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[mnt_raph]

*The exit opens to a dark alleyway. Doesn't matter that it's the afternoon, most alleyways are dark. Especially ones in this part of town. The sounds of the city are overwhelmed by the stench of the trash in the cans lining the alley.

Raph takes a deep breath*

Home sweet home.

Comments

[mnt_raph]

Downtown. Near The Village.
We gotta go north to get to the Park.

*Raph doesn't seem all that comfortable. He's a little crisp around the edges.*

So, how you wanna go? Subway? Taxi? It's a little too bright out here for a rooftop jump.

[stilljustandrew]

Uh, taxi? Could we?

[mnt_raph]

Why not?
it'll be a first for us both

*Raph leads Andrew out of the alleyway, and onto one of the more major streets. It takes a bit of effort and mental kicking to get him out of the alleyway, out of the shadows. He hails a passing taxi.*

YO! TAXI!

*okay, so maybe he's overcompensating...just a little*

[stilljustandrew]

*Andrew is rubbernecking like the delighted tourist he is.*

*...And shivering a little. Damn, it's cold here.*

[mnt_raph]

*A taxi stops, and Raph opens the door, ushering Andrew in, before clambering in himself. He's never ridden in a taxi before. Seems he wasn't mising much.*

Central Park West. Eighty-ninth Street.

[stilljustandrew]

*Andrew's face is glued to the taxi window as they drive uptown, his eyes wide.*

*Because, New York. Like a scene from all those movies.*



*...he's not humming it. really he's not.*

[mnt_raph]

*Raph should share Andrew's enthusiasm, or at bare minimum, he should be aloof. Instead he's anxious. He puts his hands in the front pocket of his hoodie, and grips a throwing star.*

Yeah, you know what? Just drop us right here, okay?

*he tosses the cabbie more money than he's owed, and gets out of the cab*

We're almost there anyway. It's only a couple more blocks.

[stilljustandrew]

*Andrew gives Raph an odd look as they step out onto the cobbled sidewalk.*

...you okay?

[mnt_raph]

Huh? Me? Yeah, sure. Fine.
*He starts walking*

[stilljustandrew]

*He might have pushed it further, but suddenly there's Central Park, right next to them, trees in a riot of fall colors behind the low stone wall between the Park and the sidewalk.*

*And he stares at it for a moment, and then has to break into a jog to catch up with Raph.*

[mnt_raph]

*He just doesn't know what to do with himself. Here he is. Broad daylight. Standing outside Central Park.

What he wants to do is vault over the wall, but he knows that would draw attention. For the first time ever, trying to hide would draw more attention that just walking around.

He takes a deep breath, and walks through one of the openings in the wall. When nothing bad happens, he smiles, and waves Andrew on*

Come on man, quit your gawkin'.

[stilljustandrew]

What? Oh --

*He tears himself away from delighted contemplation of the Haydn Planetarium across the street, and hurries to catch up.*

[mnt_raph]

*After a few seconds of scanning, he sees it, the most out in the open hotdog cart in the Park. The little multicolored umbrella and steam rising from the cart itself, call to him.*

*To the hot dog guy*
Two. One with the works and...

*he calls to Andrew*
What do you want?

[stilljustandrew]

Uh, whatever you're getting.

*He is going to do this Right. An authentic New York hot dog.*

[mnt_raph]

*He turns back to the vendor*
Make that two. Oh and two rootbeers. Barq's, if you got'em.

*There's a flurry of activity, as the vendor sets about dousing the hotdogs in various and sundry toppings of all types.

Raph hands off a hotdog and a can of soda to Andrew, and then pays the vendor for the food.*

Come'on, let's find a place to sit.

[stilljustandrew]

*There's a park bench not far from the cart, with an attractive view of a small placid body of water backed by a crag of stone, atop which is a tiny two-story castle.*

*It's called the Turtle Pond. But if Raph knows that, he isn't saying anything.*

*They sit, and Andrew fumbles for a moment trying to open the soda can without dropping the hotdog.*

[mnt_raph]

*Raph is about to take the first bite of his hotdog, when Andrew's struggling catches his eye.*

You all right over there?

[stilljustandrew]

I think I got it --

*Triumphantly, he manages to pop the top without spilling either the root beer or the sauerkraut. He grins, and takes a large bite of his hot dog.*

[mnt_raph]

Well done.

*Raph chuckles and follows suit. He makes short work of the hotdog, and then leans back on the park bench, nursing the rootbeer*

Okay, this...this right here? This is pretty wild. That's what this is.

[stilljustandrew]

Well, it's sort of wild over there -- *he points to a tiny island in the lake, heavy with overgrown greenery* -- and on the other side of the hill, but here they've trimmed the bushes and everything...

*He trails off, realizing that isn't quite what Raph meant.*

[mnt_raph]

Dork don't shut off, do it Andrew?
*he smirks*

[stilljustandrew]

sorry.

You meant, uh ...

what did you mean?

[mnt_raph]

*He finishes his soda, crumples the can and then tosses it into a nearby trashcan*

'Bout which part? The wild? Or the Geek?

[stilljustandrew]

The wild.

The Geek I got.

[mnt_raph]

*Raph stretches backwards, the bones of his spine snap as he does so.*

Andrew. It's the middle of the afternoon. I'm sprawled on a park bench by my favorite pond in Central Park. No one's running. No one's screaming. There ain't a ninja in sight.

This don't seem wild to you?