Jamie && Irae

[Jamie]

Benjamin stopped in his tracks as something shone directly into his eye. He let out an unceremonious curse that was very unlike the boy-detective and then bent over to inspect the offending object. It was a ring. A ring of considerable value by the look of it. The boy gazed appreciatively at its simple beauty before coaxing it to give him it's story. The ring gladly complied, and the detective watched a young woman leave her house and walk down an alleyway. The next moment somebody jumped her and stole the ring before quickly hurrying back to his retched hole. Something startled the robber and caused him to drop the ring and scurry off. Benjamin was the next person to pick it up.
The boy looked over the piece of expensive jewelry and then asked it where its owner lived. He saw the address in his mind's eye and with a firm resolve to return the item he set off.
A young woman looked up from her book in surprise as somebody knocked at her door. She glanced out the window at the setting sun, wondering who would call so late. One could only imagine her surprise when she opened the door to find a curly-haired youth standing on her front porch with her ring in his hand. She completely ignored the fact his tattered clothes hadn't seen soap in weeks and pulled him into a grateful hug.
"You must have some reward, of course!" the woman exclaimed after she had released the embarrassed Benjamin.
Without waiting for a reply, she slipped a decent amount of money into the boy's hands and thanked him again.
The detective looked down in surprise at the bills and quickly pocketed them. He began to whistle softly and as he walked down the row of houses he was already solving his next mystery: What he would do with his reward money.

[Irae]

Rayven sat perched atop the slanted roof of an ancient church, one leg drawn up to his chest and the other dangling loosely over the edge. He looked out over the darkening city and saw the sun setting through the gaps between buildings. He sighed, suddenly lonely. Dropping his gaze to the churchyard below, the man could just make out a group of inky black crows scrabbling in the growing shadows. He cast out his mind to the nearest and the bird instantly froze, turning its attention to the roof where Rayven sat. He focused on an impression of the bird flying up to him and settling on his shoulder, and moments later the bird obeyed, taking off with a ragged squawk. As it settled, he stroked the animal affectionately beneath its curved beak. Birds had always been his favorite.

"You must have some reward, of course!" A woman's voice floated up from the next street over. Rayven stood, and found that by stretching up he could just make out a woman pressing a fold of bills into the hands of a young man. He patted his own pockets, and found them quite empty. He turned once more to the crow perched complacently on his shoulder, this time sending an impression of the bird swooping from the sky and snatching the bills from the unsuspecting youth before returning to the roof. He could feel the bird's hesitation and felt the same emotion echoed in himself. He was unaccustomed to a life of crime, having lived this far by a strict set of morals, but the rumbling in his stomach convinced him that perhaps this could be forgiven. He forced a stronger will on the bird and it took off at once. He watched with cold disinterest as his pet attacked the youth and raised his forearm as it turned back toward him. He pulled the bills from its beak and stoked its head in thanks, releasing it from his influence. The bird took off and winged away over the darkening city. He looked with satisfaction at the sum in his hands, a dark grin spreading over his features. At least he would eat tonight.

Moving quickly, he climbed down from the roof and strolled out into the dim streets, looking for somewhere to buy a hot meal.

[Jamie]

"Hey!" Benjamin cried indignantly as his money was rudely snatched from him. "Give that back!" The boy watched as the crow flew the money up to a nearby rooftop and frowned. Why would it do that? The detective ran across the street in time to see a man climb down from a roof. Benjamin's fists clenched as he realized his money was in that man's hands. He wouldn't have minded it so much if it hadn't just been given to him. He wasn't used to being rewarded for his actions and this had been special for him.

With a loud shout the youth charged at the man, forgetting his decorum as he was caught up in the moment. The boy detective wrapped his long arms around the man and pulled him to the ground, the element of surprise working in his favor. "I believe you have something that belongs to me," Benjamin growled, pinning the thief to the street. He attempted to free his bills from the man's hand, asking the papers for the story as his fingers brushed against them. This man had done something to a crow and told it to take his money. Benjamin's eyes slanted into a glare as he looked at the man. He would never ever use his powers in a dishonest way. He knew that much. The fact this man would made Benjamin sick.

[Irae]

Rayven heard a harsh cry from somewhere behind him and turned just in time to catch a glimpse of a rushing blur before he was driven to the ground. His head hit the sidewalk with a resounding crack and for a moment his vision clouded over. When it cleared, he found himself staring up at a shaggy youth who was glaring down at him with digust plain in his features. Rayven snarled in fury and spat up into his face. Simultaneously, he cast out his mind to the remaining crows still scrabbling in the nearby church yard, calling to them for help. Instantly the birds rose into the air in a burst of squawks and flapped over to where the pair lay tangled on the sidewalk. Calling harshly they began to circle above, occaisionally making as if to dive at the youth but never quite making contact.

"Let me up," Rayven growled under the commotion of the crows.

[Jamie]

"Not until I get my money back!" Benjamin replied loudly over the squawking. He wiped the spittle from his eye and dug one of his bony knees into the man's gut. "Give it up already!" he shouted. The youth continued to hold the thief to the ground while he struggled to free his reward from the man's grip. He shooed the bothersome crows with one hand and was relieved to see they weren't trying to peck his eyes out or anything. Crazy birds. Suddenly in a moment of inspiration Benjamin stood and gave the man's arm a mighty stomp, hoping to open the hand that held his money. He threw himself back onto the thief and made a grab at the bills.

[Irae]

Rayven cried out in equal pain and surprise as the youth's foot came crashing down onto his arm. He felt more than heard a light crack as one of the fragile bones in his wrist gave way. His face contorted in pain and he immediately relinquished his grip on the fold of bills, rolling as much to one side as the boy's weight would allow to cradle his wrist against his chest.

"Damn it!" he spat through gritted teeth. His eyes rolled upward to the crows still circling and calling overhead. He focused on an impression through his pain and the birds responded at once. They began to dive at the youth once more, this time connecting, clutching at his clothing and hair with beaks and claws alike.

In the resulting confusion, Rayven used his remaining arm to shove at his captor and rolled his body from beneath the boy. Wincing, he pulled himself into a crouching position and watched with a detatched calm as the crows harassed the boy.

[Jamie]

Benjamin let out a triumphant shout and hid the recovered bills in the deepest pockets of his jeans. His victory was short lived though, because the next moment he was attacked by a murder of crows. As the birds began to pull at whatever they could find, Benjamin thought it very appropriate that they should be called a 'murder' of crows. In fact, he should probably do something about said birds before they destroyed his clothing. He let out a growl as one of the black birds took a beakful of hair and tugged at it. "Bugger off!" he shouted, waving his hands around in the air to shoo the pests away. When he found that his shouting wasn't discouraging the animals he turned to the source of the problem. "Call them off or I'll break your other wrist to match the first one," he growled as he brushed the birds away and approached Rayven.

[Irae]

Rayven gave a single short burst of mirthless laughter as he straightened from his crouching position. He stood with his head hung to one side, long black hair partially covering his features, his injured wrist cradled to his chest.

"You got the jump on me when my back was turned, boy," he called in a low voice. "Do not mistake that for being able to best me. Besides," he went on, turning away slightly. "What makes you think that I have any control over them?" He laughed again, this time more genuinely.

[Jamie]

Benjamin glared at the man as he beat his arms wildly to keep the birds away. "I saw you," he said. "I saw that crow take my money back to you. You're one of... them aren't you?" The boy kept a straight face so the man wouldn't see that he was one of 'them,' too. "You know I hear they aren't too friendly to--um, Alternates these days," Benjamin continued, swatting a crow as it dove at his shirt. "So would you call off these effing birds before I alert the proper authorities?" he asked, hoping the man couldn't see straight through his bluff. Calling the authorities would end badly for him, too, he knew. But these birds were tearing up his newest pair of clothes and he couldn't really hurt them so he would need Rayven's help.

[Irae]

Rayven narrowed his grey-green eyes to slits at the boy's threats. He decided it was almost certainly a bluff. Surely this ragged street rat wouldn't have the guts to call the cops. Or would he? He realized with a sinking feeling that he didn't have much in his favour by way of a defense. His wrist was throbbing and his skull ached from its impact with the sidewalk. This entire encounter was slowly slipping out of his control. Still watching the youth suspiciously, he focused on the mob of crows and with a jerk of his chin sent them flapping away over the city. He watched then go, a wistful expression on his face. He then returned his attention to his would-be opponent, looking him over angrily. The kid knew his secret! Yet the anger was mostly aimed at himself. He had, after all, been the one to use his gift so openly. He ground his teeth bitterly.

"Happy now?" he spat.

[Jamie]

"Very," Benjamin replied, trying his best to hide the smug look on his face. He looked down at his clothes and nodded as he found only a few holes in them. "I am sorry about your wrist," Benjamin said as honestly as he could. In all truthfulness he was glad the man had suffered at least one casualty. He had, after all, stolen his money. Benjamin rubbed his arm and sighed as he realized he had been cut when he'd thrown Rayven on the ground. He looked at the man suspiciously, almost afraid to let him out of his sight. He might go off and rob some other unfortunate fellow. The youth had just opened his mouth to say something when his stomach let out an unprofessional rumbling noise. Benjamin frowned. He was sure Sherlock Holmes didn't have this problem when he was about to begin an important bit of dialogue.

[Irae]

Now it was Rayven's turn to look smug. He couldn't help it, really. After all, the look of shock that had passed over the boy's face as his stomach had growled had been completely ridiculous. He fancied himself so high and mighty, did he? Well his body was telling quite a different story. He-

But the man's self-righteous thoughts were, to his horror, interrupted by his own stomach voicing its emptiness. His lips parted in a sneer and he slowly closed his eyes in exasperation. He heaved a great sigh. Perhaps, he thought grudgingly, he and this youth had more in common than either would care to admit.

"That's why I did it, you know," he offered, opening his eyes again to gaze bitterly at the boy. "Starving, just like you," he added with a nod toward the boy's midsection. His eyes downcast and his injured wrist clasped tightly to his chest, he turned and began to walk slowly into a nearby alleyway.

[Jamie]

Benjamin watched him for a few moments. He did feel a little guilty for hurting the man, even if he had deserved it. "Crap," the youth growled as his conscience refused to let him turn and leave Rayven. The man would probably turn and stab him in the back, but Benjamin was apparently willing to take that chance. He sighed heavily. If the man hadn't put on such a pitiful act maybe he could have spent the rest of the evening in peace. "Hey!" Benjamin called, running after Rayven. "Look, I was wrong. Not about taking my money back, mind you, but about the way I did it... How about I buy you dinner and we call it even?" The boy looked seriously at the man, his fingers slipping into his pockets to make sure his money was still there.

[Irae]

Rayven darted his eyes up to meet the boy's. There was not a trace of malice nor aggression in them. It seemed that all will to fight had temporarily left the man. They did, however, look guarded, and he watched the boy with this shielded expression until he finished speaking. Rayven was taken by surprise. Having rarely been offered a kindness in his entire life, he was unsure of how to respond. Surely this youth didn't owe him anything. He had, after all, been the one to try to rob him. He had gotten what he deserved. But still... Another impatient rumble from his midsection made up his mind for him.

"That's very kind of you," he began cautiously. "And perhaps I was the one who was wrong-" His words halted suddenly as a thought occurred to him all at once; had the boy not earlier threatened to turn him in for his powers? What if this was merely a trap, a way to get him caught? His eyes narrowed in suspicion. "But why should I trust you?" he finished. "You've threatened me once before."

[Jamie]

Benjamin rubbed his neck and his face turned an embarrassed shade of red. "Yes, well--" he muttered, "that was me being a horrible liar. I couldn't turn you in if I wanted to because I'm in the same boat." Benjamin wondered if he should be telling the man such sensitive information but it wasn't like the man could stab him in the back either. "I think it's safe to say you can trust me because if you can't trust your own kind at a time like this than the humans have really won. So I suppose you can trust me and I'll trust you not to kill me when I turn my back for a second," the youth said, cringing as be realized how lame the last part of his speech sounded.