Street Sisters[Charlotte][Flashback]

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    "Ran out of candy ....." Little Roxanne whined as she flipped the empty bag upside down frowning angrily. It was a sunny spring day in the city of Gotham and Roxie had the urge to taste the sweet sugary sweetness of candy. She found her bag and it was empty, so Roxanne was disappointed. Roxie went over to a hidden spot in her home and brought out a brown satchel, positioning on her shoulder and placing the satchel on her little waist deciding to go out to the local convenience store and buy a bag. The nine-year old dig into her pockets and brought out the money she has. Five, ten, twelve...nickles! Eleven cents short! Roxanne let out a little pout at not having enough money on hand to buy, and she didn't feel on going pickpocketing, so she decided it was easier to try and steal a bag.

Roxanne climbed down the fire-escape with her satchel, careful to not fall off. Once Roxanne got down to the concrete floor, she started running to the store. Now Little Roxie learned that even in day-light, the East Ends can be a dangerous place. And Park Row can be the worse of those places. Running past street-girls and mobsters, drug-dealers and murderers, Roxanne was used to the seedy things that occurred in the area. And one of the main things that she learned was never stop for anyone, or it'll be bad.

Coming up to the boarded store, she checked the front desk to make sure that the store clerk was not there chewing his beer flavored gum. Seeing that the man was not present at his desk, she slipped into the store protectively gripping her satchel. Glancing around the store, she spotted her yummy goal, just sitting there in the metal stand. Licking her lips like the hungry child she was, she reached for the treat....only to see another bigger hand.

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For Charlotte, today's shoplifting excursion matters a whole lot more than maintaining her candy supply. Well, yes, she's made sure that a few of her favorite candybars are among the loot, but right now what she mostly needs is 'trading goods', so to speak. And candy is a wonderful thing to have on hand for that: it's small, easy to steal, and easy to carry around afterward. It also has a way of convincing people to part with some things that a more practical item wouldn't. Especially among younger people, though many adults have a sweet tooth too. So when the clerk decides to check something in back while she's there, she feels like she's hit the jackpot - it's so much easier to shoplift when nobody's looking.

Because while just anyone can take something from a store shelf while nobody's looking, and one can learn to be better at that if you know a few tricks when it comes to knowing when you won't be seen and such, Charlotte has a particular knack for shoplifting while someone is actually watching and getting away with that. It's just so much easier when she doesn't have to resort to such trickery. So she's quickly but very quietly stuffing her pockets when she notices a slightly younger girl enter the store. While you can't ever be sure by the way someone looks, the way the girl looks at the unstaffed register has Charlotte suspecting that they're both here for the same purpose.

Some say that there's honor among thieves. Others say that there isn't. Charlotte would say that would greatly depend on which one you're talking about, and she has no idea whether or not she can trust this girl. So she immediately stops taking things when she appears and instead observes her out of the corner of her eye for a minute. And it's probably the fact that she wasn't focused on the candy that she catches a flickering shadow that signals that the clerk is a split second away from reappearing. And Charlotte uses that split second to quickly take the candy that the girl is reaching for before she can. "Clerk..." she warns in a quiet whisper as she casually turns the item over and pretends to look at the nutrition and ingredients label.

Sure enough, that's the instant that the clerk reappears and he immediately looks rather suspiciously at Charlotte - who happens to be just the right demographic to be shoplifting. Then again, since the teen looks like she's just browsing and warned the other girl, there's nothing to see. She frowns at the candy as if unhappy with it and puts it neatly back on the shelf. However, right after she immediately brushes past the other girl, who would feel the slightest of tugs on her satchel as she does so. Charlotte has never bothered to learn how to pickpocket, you see, so she doesn't know how to stick her hand into the satchel's outer pocket without the other girl feeling it. But she didn't take anything - instead if the girl looks she'll finds the candy that she'd been reaching for. Because what neither the clerk or the girl saw was that Charlotte had grabbed two of them, palmed one of them while examining the other, and then put only one back. The second is now in the satchel.

But, having done that 'good deed', Charlotte doesn't think that it's wise for her to stick around in the store for much longer. She already has plenty of loot in her coat, the clerk is probably still suspicious, and she can't be sure what the other girl will do at this point. So she selects a large candy bar off a nearby shelf and takes it to the register. "This, please," she says boredly, pretending to be just another teen wasting her money on candy rather than one with many times the value of what she's buying hidden on her person. She pays for it with change from her pocket and starts to open it for immediate eating as she leaves the store. But once she's out and past the big windows in front she stops and lingers - because if she can, she'd like a chance to actually meet her fellow candy thief. It's just not a good idea to do so when you're both 'working'.

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    Roxanne retracted her hand with a fearful gasp, quickly turning her head to look at the owner of the hand, she held her breath and stared wide-eyed at the older girl that appeared out of no where. Looking up, she saw the girl was taller then her, and looked older. She was probably a teenager by the looks of it. And like Roxie, her appearance was disheveled and disorderly. It's possible that she was here for the same reason Roxanne was. However, since she practically took the candy bag before Little Roxie could, the nine-year old suspected that the teen was stealing it since she was smaller and weaker. In surviving, the fittest and strongest will survive.

But out of that though, Roxanne should be relieved that it wasn't the loud-mouth big meanie clerk, but because of her paranoia and untrustworthiness towards anyone she doesn't know, Roxanne was trembling with her lower lip quivering frightfully. She was just trying to get a candy bag and the clerk wasn't in sight either. When the older kid whispered to her in a warning tone, she looked at the back and saw the clerk going back to the register. Noticing that he is aware of her and the teen's presences, Roxanne let out a small squeak and hid behind the metal stand trying to hide from the man. Curious at the new girl though, Roxie stared at the girl as she seemed to pretend to read the label. She blinked as the teen placed the sweets right back on the racket and walked passed her to the register.

Not registering the light tugging on the satchel, she continued to stare at the girl who took a large candy bar off another self and bravely went to the clerk who still seemed suspicious, buying the candy bar with change from her pocket. After the teen left, the clerk took a rag and wiped down his counter, before looking up and spotting Roxanne hiding behind the selves. Taking an angry look, he begin yelling at the frighten girl that always stole his products and who he could never caught. "You! Get the heck out of my store you little Street Rat! Or I'mma shoot you again!" In a panic, Roxanne scurried off out of the door as fast she could, not noticing the teen was standing outside of the store. Gripping her satchel tightly to calm her nerves, she finally noticed that the bag felt....heavier.

Unbuttoning her satchel, she dug her little hand into the bag and gripped something. Pulling the mystery item out, she gasped. In her grip was a bag of candy! The teen girl must have placed it inside the bag when she passed Roxanne in the store. Not thinking about the teen at the moment, she ripped the bag open and dug into the plastic baggy. Scooping some candy out, she quickly shoved the sweets into her mouth and let out a pleasing moan. Busy with her sweet treats, she didn't notice the same girl from before spying at her.

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Given the difference in tactics when it comes to shoplifting, Charlotte's tactics for dealing with the clerk are completely different as well. Much of her ruse is to seem like such an ordinary customer that the clerk will only discover what she's taken the next time he does inventory, and even then it would probably be hard for him to figure out which person did it when she's just one of many people it could have been. Of course, it also helps that she tries not to take from the same store too frequently - that's just asking for them to put two and two together.

But she knows that she's much, much more subtle about it than most. Which was a part of why she decided to leave rather than trying to risk staying longer in hopes of getting more - especially when the girl reacted to the clerk by hiding, she suspected something would happen if she was spotted. And when, not too long after she's started waiting, she hears a shout and sees the girl running out of the store she's proved correct. If she'd stayed, the clerk would have probably been suspicious enough of her to ask her to empty her pockets after chasing the other girl out. And Charlotte really doesn't like to have to run.

She's about to make her presence known when she sees the girl stop and look in her satchel. And she can't help but silently grin to herself as the girl discovers the bag of candy. "You're welcome," she says rather loudly between bites of her candybar, being sure to be loud enough that the girl can hear her. Waiting for the girl to spot her, she gives a smile and a friendly wave from her spot just within the next alleyway over. Knowing that, even with the gift, the other girl is likely to still be just a bit wary of a stranger she stays put and lets her decide what to do. Truth be told, Charlotte is just a bit wary herself and is mentally reminding herself of the pocketknife in her pocket, should she need it - though to be honest she'd rather run from a fight if it came down to it.

But she looks quite relaxed as she leans back against the brick wall and eats her candybar. In fact, a moment later she adds, "By the way, I'm Charlotte." Yep, about as non-threatening as an older person on the street can be - which is not completely, but that's just how it is.

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    Roxanne was startled by the loud voice, accidently letting go of a gum-drop that now fell to the dirty concrete. Glancing around where the voice came from, she finally noticed that someone was standing in the alley-way across. With a closer inspection the young girl recognized the teen from earlier, leaning against a brick wall of one of the run-down buildings looking relaxed eating the candybar she brought from the store. Her timid nature returning, she shrunk away shyly from the teen, thinking if to greet back or to high-tail it back to her little roof-top home. So, even with consequence, she chose the first option.

Lifting her hand up slowly, she waved back at the teen. What the girl said finally registered in Roxanne's mind, but she was confused on why the teen welcomed her. Glancing down at the bag full of sweets, she came to realize that the tug earlier in the store was the girl sneaking the sweets into her satchel! Letting a small smile tug at her lips, she looked up and ran straight across the street to the older girl. Immediately stopping in front of the teen, she glanced upward, her nervousness crawling back up on her. Her voice cracking a bit, Roxanne decided to thank the disorderly teen for giving her the candy. "Tha-Thank you." Roxie stuttered as she glanced down and shuffled her feet.

Being this close to an older street urchin is dangerous if you don't know them. Roxanne knew a few situations where younger street-kids were practically bullied and killed by older and stronger ones. Right now, Roxanne needs to be vigilant when close to an older teen who she doesn't know. If the teen does try to attack her, she'll have no choice but to use her sharp arsenal to defend herself, it is survival of the fittest after all.

Noticing that the girl continued to speak, she looked up. Charlotte.....That pretty name. Seeing that the teen didn't have the intention to attack Roxanne, the nine-year-old's mood changed a little more. Realizing that Roxanne was being rude by not giving her name to the teen, she gave a little smile. "Ro-Rox-Roxanne." Fidgeting from the way she stuttered, Roxanne gave a small cough. "Name Roxanne." She repositioned her satchel before continuing. "You live on streets too?"

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While Charlotte may be older, she's definitely not a bully. Because while it's possible to get things by taking them from younger kids, she's not so desperate that she'd need to resort to that. And it just seems a little bit pathetic and unfair of her to go around preying upon those who are weaker than her when she could be preying upon stores with employees who aren't clever enough to catch her.

Besides, taking things from those who are smaller than you is actually not as easy as it looks - or it is if you can scare the crap out of them and convince them to give up without a fight, but if they fight back it's sometimes the littlest ones that fight the hardest. And then there's the fact that she's only been on the streets for a couple of months now - long enough that she knows how to survive but not so long that those who have been on the streets for longer can't take advantage of their greater experience.

So she's actually just a bit nervous when the younger girl approaches, though her nervousness eases when she sees that the girl is much more nervous than she is - that's a good sign that this will stay friendly. "It wasn't a problem," Charlotte responds with a slight smile and a shrug. And it really wasn't. Well, she supposes that she could have kept the bag herself and perhaps gotten something for it, but she'd gotten enough other stuff while the clerk was away that she's sure that she can afford to be generous right now.

The girl's question gets a nod, and she elaborates by saying, "Yep - have been for a bit. Though you haven't seen me because I move around a lot. I usually avoid the more dangerous neighborhoods..." And at that self-reminder, she she glances around both down the alley and up and down the adjoining street - because this definitely is a more dangerous neighborhood. But none of the shops around here have ever seen her face, and there are more street people to trade with. Then again, the street people in this area are more likely to be aggressive and in a group, so it's a risky way for her to be making money. But she figures she should come out unscathed as long as she's careful and doesn't stick around for too long. Besides, even her big stash is running on empty - if she doesn't get a few big hauls then she'll suffer for it.

"How about you?" she asks back, "You stay around here?" The way that the clerk yelled at Roxanne seemed to indicate as much at least - though if that's the case then the girl in front of her must handle living on the streets differently than she does. Charlotte isn't sure how she'd do if she had to live in such a hotspot for gangs, especially if she was any smaller.

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    So Charlotte is new to this neck of the woods, interesting. Then it's dangerous for the teen to be here since she's unfamiliar of Park Row and its alley-ways. But for Roxanne, this is her home town. Living in this sector of the city for the pass three years taught her the best ways to last and conquer in the rest of Gotham. Some of the street-girls and druggies know her, even some of the homeless citizens. She trades them for art supplies, food, newspapers, and rags and gives them cash. The street-girls and homeless are the Park Row citizens Roxanne mostly trades with since she knows they need the money, the druggies, she doesn't trade much with.

Another advantage for Roxie is that most of the casinos and other buildings are ran by Falcone members. Because Louisa was the one who took Roxanne in after she found her, Little Roxie became a liked bambino among the members. When Roxanne felt hungry for something that wasn't bread or cheap convenience store brands, she would go to one of the Falcone owned dwellings and order some food, usually they're on-the-house too. And when she is really in a brave mood, Roxanne would go to the Stacked Deck. Mostly she'll just stay in one of the private booths with her arsenal set in clear view with a fake I'll-kill-you-if-you-even-look-at-me-wrong demeanor. Even relaxing, you still have to be wary.

Roxanne notices that Charlotte was looking nervously around the area, as if a criminal would popped right out and shoot her, which is an understatement since that could happen. It is Park Row. In a calm tone, Roxanne spoke again. "No nervous. Safe with me. Only bad at night." It was still day-light and the sun was on the set of setting down for the day, so it was probably around seven. Still, they should probably get going soon. Don't want to be around when the street goes into a blood-bath and other unsavory fluids.

She nodded at Charlotte's question when she asked her if she lived here. Which wasn't really unusual, especially when each of them just met. "Yeah, live for three years. House on top of.." Roxanne became bashful as she awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck, feeling ashamed from her choice of accommodation. "Of Love house."

Glancing upward, she saw that the sunlight disappearing, a mix of reds, purples, and oranges were coming in. Narrowing her eyes, Roxanne's whole demeanor changes. Reaching her hand out and clutching onto Charlotte's hand, Roxanne turned and dragged the teen, ignoring how Charlotte was trying to get out of her grip. To calm her from attacking Roxanne, she said in a serious tone. "Come. Streets not good at night. Dangerous. Need to hide."

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Just because Charlotte isn't as perfectly familiar with this area as Roxanne is doesn't mean that she's helpless or stupid, but she decides to not get too offended by Roxanne's words. "Yeah, duh..." she says dully, simply indicating that the girl doesn't need to state the obvious - she knows perfectly well that the area is much more dangerous at night, and that night is fast approaching. But right now she'd call herself more wary than scared - and to be wary is perfectly justified when you don't already know, for example, which shortcuts through the buildings are the bad ones to use. Then again, if Roxanne is used to sticking to this one familiar area then she probably doesn't know as much as Charlotte does about how to guess which are the bad ones without testing it out. The city has a way of teaching you what you need to know, though - well, either that or you get killed.

As Roxanne explains where she lives, Charlotte frowns slightly and her eyebrow raises. Whatever she means by 'Love house', between calling it that and the girl's embarrassment, she has to figure that it's some adult venue - and all of those would probably be rather unpleasant to live on top of. "Why there?" she has to ask. Because it's been her experience that finding a decent place to shelter is hard because the best spots require a bit of creativity to think of, not because they're scarce. Surely, if this girl has been around for three years, she could have found better? Then again, it's repeatedly come to her attention that the two of them operate with a surprisingly different set of skills in spite of the fact that they live in similar circumstances, so maybe not. Or maybe this house of hers is surprisingly awesome and worth the location - that's always a possibility.

Just as aware of the time as Roxanne is, Charlotte is about to bid the younger girl farewell - perhaps saying something about hoping to bump into her again - when she suddenly finds her hand being grabbed. And she reflexively tries to pull it back, though she isn't worried enough to try too hard to get away. She probably could, if she really wanted to - just because she hasn't used her greater strength to her advantage doesn't mean she isn't strong enough to get away. But she suspects that Roxanne means well, even if her methods are kind of off-putting. "Where are we going?" she questions instead, deciding it's better to get more information before she decides not to listen to Roxanne - she knows better than to ignore the advice of a local who is trying to help you. But it's not like she'd come to Park Row without a plan of her own for a safe place to spend the night.

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    Hearing the obvious sarcasm streaming from Charlotte, it was that the teen might have been a bit more smart, not as experience but smart enough to know about the streets after dark. Roxanne actually tries to stay away during the dark of the night but sometimes she needs to go off doing a job and goes ahead and uses the short-cuts to keep away safe. Though she is young, Roxanne is very experienced on how to survive Gotham. She knows about different weapons and different gangs, she knows what alley-ways that end with a brick wall, and she knows, importantly, to stay away from the Rouges, they're only bad news. Since she is a Runner for an influential mob, Roxanne travels all around Gotham, from East to West and North to South. Once Roxanne gets older, she'll even travel towards the outskirts of Gotham.

She should have just kept her mouth shut that she lived on top of a Brothel from the way Charlotte was looking at her. It wasn't her fault-wait, it was her fault, she chose the location. Roxanne was out of choices though, it was either that or live near the Stacked Deck, and she isn't that crazy. Even though Roxanne did say she lived on top of the apartment for three years, in the earlier months of the first time she appeared in the Neighborhoods she moved a few times. That was a dangerous time, until the street group she hangs with found her. Roxanne understands why Charlotte had the need to ask why she chose that location, it is an unusual settlement. "It unsuspecting. No trouble. No one would find. Safe." And it was true. A criminal wouldn't suspect a young little girl to live on top of an adult venue filled with street-girls and drug users.

As she pulls Charlotte by the hand to her home-made shelter, Roxanne cautiously looks around the street for any unwell folk. The street-girls were already going to work in their scantily clad clothing and over-used make-up. Roxie is hoping they'll be careful. She doesn't really mind them much, usually there only to make income. Charlotte seemed to be still wary of Roxanne, which is okay to say the least. It means that she is well enough to know how many citizens of the East Ends work. So Charlotte's question was understandable. "Home. Bad place to walk around. Unfamiliar Territory. Safe with me." Turning her head around to stare at Charlotte, she became endearing. "I like you." Charlotte was new, and even if she had a plan, it would blow up in the teens face. There were circumstances when street-kids who were unfamiliar with Park Row ended up dead or worse. And Charlotte would choose a spot where it was a hide-out for a gang. Roxanne would not take the chance.

Of course she would help anyone who comes her way.

Coming into the alley-way where the fire-escape was just around the corner, Roxanne stopped. There was a group huddled up around a fire pit. Her hand still clutching onto Charlotte's, she ran into a gap pulling Charlotte with her. Roxanne ducked her head under wooden beams with Charlotte behind her. Stopping in front of a gap that still showed the gang, she pulled Charlotte down by her side. Noticing that Charlotte was trying to ask something she quickly placed her hand in front of the teen's mouth, placing her finger in front of her own making a 'shh.' Roxanne silently whispered, "Sharks." The Sharks were a known gang in Park Row, and are not friendly.

With quick thinking, Roxanne dug into her pockets and took out a sharp piece of wood, then she picked up a nearby rock. Roxanne, with her precision, aimed the wood to one of the men, and threw it at his upper arm then quickly threw the rock at the other direction. The man of course screamed when the wood pierced his skin and muscle, and just as Roxanne predicted all the men ran towards the distraction. Seeing the way cleared, Roxanne retook Charlotte's hand and ran out of the opposite gap of the building with a silent "Come. Quickly." Turning the corner, Roxanne ran towards the fire-escape and let go of Charlotte's hand when she reached it, climbing the object she turned her head to look at Charlotte. "Up. Don't look in windows."

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Much of Charlotte's expression eases as Roxanne explains why she'd live where she does - safety is the biggest concern when you choose where to live. Well, unless the weather is terrible, because then keeping warm and dry is most important since you can die from that too. Still, she's got to think that there'd be other places that are just as safe.

After Roxanne explains where they're going, Charlotte has to think about that for a moment, even though she can't help but smile when the girl says she likes her. But after that moment, she indicates that she's willing to come by picking up her step and coming along more easily. Still, though she trusts that Roxanne knows the area, she trusts nothing more than her own senses, so she too keeps a wary eye on their surroundings - two sets of eyes are better than one, after all. She doesn't mind the hookers they pass either, but for a more basic reason: women who do that don't bother with girls like her, and anyone who leaves Charlotte alone is okay in her book.

It's after that when they get to an alleyway that looks iffy to Charlotte, and Roxanne would find that her first tug in it's direction is halted by firmly planted feet. It's only after she gets a chance to see exactly where Roxanne wants to go that the second pull gets her moving again. The group around the fire pit concerns her greatly - she doesn't like groups! And she's also not really used to dealing with them by being sneaky. She'd rather take the long way and give them a wide berth. Still, since Roxanne isn't leading her into their midst and seems confident enough about the way that they're going, she follows as quietly as she can.

"Wh-" she starts, only to be interrupted by Roxanne's hand. But then the girl answers the question she was going to ask and Charlotte's eyes go visibly wider - she's heard of these guys! And she definitely doesn't want to be this close to them - nope! Her eyes get even wider when Roxanne seems to be getting things to throw at them - oh, crap, in about two seconds she'll be running for her life! Fortunately, what Roxanne does with the things is a lot more clever than she'd been assuming, and she blinks in surprise as their way is cleared. "Huh..." she says in thoughtful surprise, telling herself that she should remember that one for later. Then again, she doesn't think that she can throw anything that accurately.

Knowing that it will only take the gang so long for the gang to either discover that they're chasing nobody or decide that whoever it is escaped, she doesn't need any extra urging to hurry. Then they're at a fire escape. And Charlotte makes a face again, though not because she has anything against fire escapes - she's not at all afraid of heights, actually. No, it's just that Roxanne's warning reminded her of what kind of place this is - yes, she definitely doesn't want to be looking into any windows. "So this place is safe, huh?" she asks, just to confirm that it's indeed worth the location. She keeps her focus on the fire escape itself as she follows Roxanne, making her way up the thing with apparent ease.

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    Roxanne speaks as she quickly climbs up the escape, knowing that the gang will do a circle around the entire building. "Better than the other choices." This was the first grammarly correct sentence that Roxanne said to Charlotte all through the day. It isn't because of her age but because she is uneducated. Roxanne doesn't know how to read or write but she does know how to handle a knife. And the fact that she likes to paint. The top of the apartment complex becomes clear as she climbs onto the roof. The roof was flat with brick and in the center was a self-made shelter. The walls and ceiling were cheap rusty steal with small barrels holding the exterior up from either side and the floor was covered in newspapers and tattered rags. There was a medium sized steel barrel standing up, it was used as a fire pit. On the concrete of the roof were artistic drawings of birds, some faded from rain, but there were recent ones sketched on.

Skidding over to the barrel, Roxanne grabbed onto heaps of newspapers and leaves, dumping them into the cylinder. Tensing though, she listened closely to the ground below, then went back to setting the fire up snickering as a gun shot was heard. "My god! You just shot Kenny!" "Rob you dumb bastard!" Another shot. Ah, the brainlessness of city gangs. Roxanne took out a match and ignite it, throwing the lightened stick into the barrel. After finishing her little job, she skipped back over to Charlotte, blinking her hazel eyes at the teen. "You like home?" Taking Charlotte's compliment, she went and sat down in her little home, observing her new guest. This was the first person Roxanne had ever taken to her home, and it wasn't the best place but it did its job.

"Charlotte wanted to know why chose spot." Roxanne pointed Westward and over at the horizon was the city lights of the Gotham skyscrapers. "That one reason." It was a view to look at.

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When they reach the top, Charlotte surveys the shelter and its surroundings with interest. She's never really built a shelter before. Well, not really - most of the places she sleeps are spots that are kind of already a shelter because some design of a building or something creates a spot big enough to fit into that's protected from the wind and other weather. Some of them she's improved by moving something to make an extra wall or something. This, on the other hand, is entirely from scratch, so it's cool for that reason. She has to wonder how Roxanne managed to get the barrels up here? Or were there barrels already here for some reason?

Her ponderings are interrupted by the sound of yelling and some gunshots, which immediately get Charlotte's attention. Though she's not too concerned as soon as she's sure that it's not happening by the fire escape. It makes her shudder though, and she heads over to the fire - something about the light and warmth just makes it feel safer there. That's something else: she's not used to having a fire most of the time, though she knows how to go about making one in an emergency - which is, generally speaking, when the shelter and clothing she has aren't good enough on an especially cold night. Normally fires are to be avoided, since they attract attention, but then again she's usually one to stay in alleyways instead of roofs and she supposes that fewer people would take notice of it all the way up here.

Roxanne's question gets a shrug, and she says, "It's okay." She's not going to call it 'nice' - a real house isn't always fit enough to be called 'nice', even. But it's clearly enough to keep Roxanne alive, and that's sufficient. Staying near the fire to bask for a moment in its warmth and glow, she glances up when Roxanne speaks again and looks where she points, seeing the glow of the city lights. Not being a tourist here, she's not that impressed by the sheer tallness of the buildings in view, but even she can appreciate the sight of them all lit up like that. After appreciating the view for a moment, she looks back at Roxanne and curiously asks, "Do you ever see Batman from here?" She's never been 'lucky' enough to spot the city's dark night herself, but then again she's one to tuck herself into some hidden corner at night. So she's got to figure that Roxanne has better odds, at the very least, if she's been living up here.

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It was difficult for Little Roxanne to bring all the scrape and barrels up with her size. She wasn't that strong but what she lacked in strength, she gained in being smart. Not like super intellectual smarts, but more of the lines of she knows how many rounds a SIG Pro semi-automatic pistol shoots out. Using ropes and a piece of cardboard, Roxanne practically pulled the material up to the roof and the rest is history. Roxanne did try to live in different hiding spots but each seemed even more dangerous then the last until she discovered the fire-escape to the roof. For a kid, Roxanne was really creative and smart.

Roxanne was pushed out of her thoughts when Charlotte asked if she ever saw Gotham's Dark Protector. Blinking her hazel eyes at the teen she nodded to confirm Charlotte's question. "Sometimes. Hide though. Rouges come too. Really need to hide." Roxanne quickly shook her head. "Not get involved." If there's one thing Roxanne learned is to not get involved with the dealings of the heroes and Rouges. The girl does see the Batman come and go, mostly when he wanted to get information from someone or going to the local clinic for some unexplained reason. And the villains....they always came to Park Row or other parts of the East Ends when they wanted to go into hiding. Roxanne did not like them. However, Roxanne did spy on a certain sidekick when he's in the neighborhood....

Call it a little crush but Roxie was very curious about the Boy Wonder. When Roxanne always saw Robin around Gotham, she does hide but still has her eyes on him and like the curious urchin she was, would sometimes follow until she couldn't catch up with him anymore. She would have stole articles about the boy and would study and look, and she noticed that the costumes became different. It was either a costume change or something else. Roxanne was into birds, so it wasn't a surprise she would have taken interest into the young sidekick.

Hearing a low gurgling sound, she curiously looked at Charlotte. "You hungry. I have soup!" Without hesitance, Roxanne got up and went over to a small cardboard box, she dug through and brought a small can of chicken noodle soup. Roxanne went over to the fire pit and placed an aluminum sheet and placed it over the fire with placing the can on top for it to heat up.

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Nodding at that, Charlotte comments, "I don't blame you! I haven't seen him, but I don't think he'd bother with us, though." They are, after all, street children and not violent criminals - all they do is take things from people who can absorb the loss and usually don't hurt anyone unless they're threatened. It would seem kind of dumb to Charlotte if he went after people like her and Roxanne while even the Sharks down there are far bigger trouble.

Though even the Sharks are nothing compared to the rogues, so Charlotte is nodding at that too, "But yeah, the rogues? They don't even need to care about you to hurt you. They're one of the reasons I don't come around here very often." The other two reasons are the street gangs and the mafia. Charlotte prefers to spend far more time in the south, west, or even central part of the city where it's less dangerous. Of course, going to those places trades the risk of violence for the risk of getting caught by the police. Though if you ask Charlotte, she'd rather risk getting arrested than risk getting killed.

Her ponderings on this are interrupted by an abrupt noise from her stomach, and she frowns. Perhaps the only thing that really makes her wish she hadn't run is the food problem. Oh, she's not as badly off as some, but still there's the occasional night like this where she just wasn't able to get a meal in before nightfall. If she'd gone with her original plan for this evening, she would have retrieved her small stash and had something to eat. Then again, she didn't have much - a part of the reason why she went to the candy store was to get things she could trade for more food and money to get food. She supposes that she could eat some of the candy, but as much as her mind would like to tell her that it counts as food, her body would disagree.

The last thing she was expecting was for Roxanne to offer some - food is precious when you're on the streets, after all. She can't help but smile a little at that, and want to do something in return, actually. Fortunately, it only takes her a moment to figure out what to do. "Well, if you're going to feed me dinner, let me take care of dessert. I need to go through my haul anyway - you can pick one," she offers with a smile, figuring that it will not only repay the girl for the soup but also encourage the girl to not get too greedy when she sees how much Charlotte has on her.

Because though Charlotte doesn't look like she's carrying much of anything, that's only because she knows where to put it. She pauses to glance at Roxanne's newspapers, picking out a sheet that looks fresher and whiter than the rest - must be from a very recent edition. She lays it on the ground so that her haul won't get as dirty as it would otherwise, and then starts to empty her pockets - carefully laying out the candy on the sheet of newspaper.

A packet of gum is in the breast pocket of her jacket, and there's Hershey's Kisses and Twizzlers in the left pocket. She doesn't bother to empty the right one, because that's where she had her spare change and her pocket knife is there too. Unzipping her jacket, she pulls a pair of Twix, two more kinds of gum, and a packet of M&Ms from the left inner pocket, while out of the right comes two Snickers, a Hershey's chocolate bar, a package of Skittles, and a 3 Musketeers. And because nothing is sacred when you're looking for places to stash candy, she then reaches underneath her shirt to pull a few things from her bra - though she's learned from experience that chocolate melts there - so instead it was stuffed with Tic Tacs, three more kinds of gum, and two packages of Starbursts. After that she's reaching underneath her jacket but behind her back - she has another pocket hidden there and pulls out some Kit Kats, another chocolate bar, and two Milky Ways. Two Butterfingers come out of her waistband. Jelly beans and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are in her pants pockets. And just when you thought she was running out of pockets, she pulls up the legs of her pants and takes out the three more kinds of gum and some breath mints that were tucked into her socks.

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Roxanne tensed at Charlotte's comment, mouth becoming dry and herself becoming anxious. The thing was Roxanne was someone to interrogate, knowing parts of the Gotham Underworld and in a sort of way working for a highly dangerous mafia. Good news was that no one ratted her out to the Batman, yet. Oh my stars, being that close to the Dark Knight would be so terrifying to the little urchin. "Ye-Yeah, no bother." She didn't want to tell Charlotte about her affiliation with the Falcones, its not a good idea to tell to someone who wants to survive. Roxanne already got attached to Charlotte, now she didn't want to loose a friend.

"They do hurt, they mock." The Rouges treated the citizens of the East Ends like dogs and rats. Pointing their weapons at them and firing, the person dodging in the last second, sometimes they weren't so lucky. And if the villains wanted new recruits, they'll just round the gangs up and start telling them promises that they won't keep. They were expandable to them. For that, Roxanne will run into the deepest of shadows along with the other smart citizens to escape from the evil games.

The dirty blonde girl did not expect Charlotte to attribute her own stash to the pile. The more she spends with the teen, the more she's uncovering the teen's personality. Smart, cautious and nice in a way too. Roxanne lot her jaw go agape as she saw all that candy Charlotte was bringing out of her clothes like a shower of sweets. However, since Charlotte said she could only picked one, she picked up the red Twizzlers. "Thank you." Roxanne nibbled on the chewy candy, observing the teen. Her eyes trained onto something that was peaking out of Charlotte's right jacket pocket. Curiosity kicking in, she quickly swiped the mysterious object from the teen's pocket and held it up to look at, pulling the pocketknife out to observe.