LOST in // Translation //

[Melody<3]

The pale sunlight of early morning flickered through the small cracks between closely built buildings. The streets were crowded with the morning rush of people going to work and kids taking advantage of the unusual day off of classes. There were excited screams and irritated grumbles floating through the air while a young boy wandered aimlessly through the hoard of people.

Vaun grumbled to himself as he tried in vain to fight against the current of civilians, not even caring as someone rammed into his shoulder. He finally looked back at the other boy who was staring in anger at him before spinning back around and placing his hood over his already hat covered head. He really stood out among the summer dressed people in his striped sleeved hoodie, long jeans and fleece hat, but he couldn't help it. The doctor couldn't place a certain diagnosis on him, but said he had to dress like this to keep the warmth in his body. Plus, he would rather cover himself up as much as he could. He had never been too sure of himself.

Sighing, Vaun relaxed a little as the people began to fan out, finally reaching where they needed to go. He usually liked being around people, but he wasn't in a good mood today. The boy's parents were fighting again, something they seemed to be doing more and more often now. He shook his head and sat on the corner, pushing his hood back to reveal his shaggy, hat covered copper hair. His two-toned eyes stared blankly at the ground and he rubbed his temples soothingly with his hands. He just needed some time to think, or maybe someone to talk to. But none of his friends would listen. They were too immature to care.

[lori]

"GIVE ME BACK MY WATCH!"
Lori darted between throngs of people, twisting and dodging to avoid crashing into an unsuspecting bystander. The group of average-sized boys remained ten feet ahead, the bulkiest one of the three holding her treasured black watch. They cackled evilly -- until one of them ran smack into a wall. The other two paused to laugh, at the expense of their "friend", and Lori seized the opportunity. She dove in a spectacular aerial feat for the leader's outstretched fist, but unfortunately overshot about three feet, causing the offending thief to unintentionally clothesline her. Taken by surprise, he toppled over, and she grabbed the watch and ran.
The three boys gave chase, ducking and weaving through the sidewalk to catch up; but this time, Lori was the leader. She looked over her shoulder to gauge the distance between herself and her pursuers, but ran through a puddle. A teen, sitting on the curb, was directly in the trajectory of the flying water.
"Sorry!" Lori called, before almost running into a streetlight.

[Melody<3]

Vaun didn't even notice as the group approached, too intent on looking on a crawling bug on the ground to care. But, when a sudden wetness came over him, he snapped out of his daze and glared up at who had caused the water to come over him, soaking his copper hair and hat. "What the hel- The boy started to blurt out in anger before noticing the girl who had run past him seemed to have apologized. He blinked in confusion at to what her hurry could be before hearing a commotion coming from the other direction.

As Vaun turned his head, he was faced with three annoyed looking teens who seemed to be chasing after the girl, and they didn't seem like they were looking to talk to her either. He immediately decided to stop any fight that could break out, though he hoped these boys wouldn't harm a girl. They weren't too big and he could take one easily, though he wasn't sure about all three if a fight broke out.

Not really having time to think a plan of action through, Vaun jumped to his feet and stood between the group of teens and the girl, wondering if she had gotten away or not. He shook his head to get the small droplets that hung to it off. The group skidded to halt in front of him, the largest one almost growling at him.

"Move it monkey-boy," He sneered, trying to get a look around the boy that stood in his way. Vaun just glared at him back and his hands turned into fists as he resisted from punching the guy out. "Not until you tell me what the hell is going on," He snapped back, not even daring to take his different colored eyes off the group. "You wouldn't stoop so low as to hurt a girl, would you?"

[lori]

"Ack!" Lori hollered as she tried to reverse direction, instead skidding right into the steel bar. "Eugh.." She clutched her nose; it didn't seem to be broken, but it didn't feel very peachy. She checked her right fist, letting out a sigh of relief when she discovered the watch dangling from her clenched fingers. Quickly latching it onto her wrist, she spun to apologize to the boy she splashed earlier.. only to find him confronting her pursuers.
"RUN!" she warned. Previous experience with these guys had enlightened her to the fact that they had one-track minds, and couldn't handle opposition well.
Instead of taking her own (wise) advice, she cowered behind a bench, praying to whatever higher powers there were that this guy wouldn't get banged up too badly.

[Melody<3]

As the girl spoke up from behind him, Vaun was caught by surprise and, without even thinking, turned his green and blue gaze towards her. That was a big mistake. He felt the largest boy's fist slam into his cheek. Vaun was forced backwards and he stumbled, blinking his eyes rapidly to process what had just happened. He felt the sharp pain rush into his mouth and rubbed the area that took the blow, listening as the three boy's laughed at his misfortune.

Okay, that was it! That guy was picking a fight with the wrong guy! Vaun's eyes narrowed in anger and he snapped his head back up to look at the trio who were too busy laughing to notice anything. Letting out a grunt, the long armed boy spun back around and thrust his fist up into the lead boy's chin. The laughter immediately turned into surprised gasped as the boy skidded back, looking completely dazed by the incident.

Vaun glared at the others as the boy started to regain awareness, letting out a growl of annoyance. He rushed at the copper haired boy, swinging her fists around widly. Vaun was surprised but still managed to duck under the boy's dangerous arms and land another hit in the chest. Guess this is when boxing came into use outside of the ring.

The other teen suddenly realized he was no match on his own and smiled, motioning with his head to his other two followers. The both smiled as well and rushed at Vaun, grabbing onto his arms before he could react. The young teen struggled to no avail and gulped. This was not going to end well.

[lori]

Lori snuck around the borders of the fight, trying not to be a coward and run. Whoever this guy was, he was risking being hospitalized by these punks. Lori thought they were from the blitzball team, but couldn't be sure; she didn't pay much attention to sports. But anyway, back to the problem at hand.
The other kid was being held by the arms by the two goons, as the third guy approached, fist poised to nail the prone kid in the lower stomach region.
The two muscleheads were too busy snickering at their captive to pay attention as Lori creeped up behind the leader guy, and tapped him on the shoulder.
He turned around, and she punched him in the face.
Now, before you think that that one blow will render the group incapable of retaliation and cause them to run off like sniveling wimps, keep in mind that..
Lori wasn't exactly a street brawler.
She hit his cheekbone hard, but turned her fist wrong, so all of the power recoiled onto her wrist. It gave with a sickening crack, signaling bone breakage. Lori sucked in a big breath, biting down on her lip hard to keep from screaming and/or crying.
Holding her immobile right hand gingerly, she aimed a kick where the sun don't shine as she retreated.

[Melody<3]

Vaun clenched his teeth as he prepared to get beat, staring down the other boy as he approached him. When the girl showed up, he rose a brow as to why she had suddenly appeared. But, when he saw the failed punch, he winced, almost able to feel her pain just from the horrible sound. But, when she didn't even really let it phase her and proceeded to kick the kid where it hurts, his eyes lit up and he let out a silent laugh.

The other two were too dazed that their leader had been injured by a girl and loosened their grip, giving Vaun the chance the wiggle his hand away from the weaker one. He let out a mischievous smile and swung his arm around to nail the one who still held him square in the cheek. The surprised boy let go of him, now giving him a fighting chance to get away. The smaller one blinked and swung his arm at Vaun, only to have him duck and hit his other companion again.

Vaun raced out of the reach of the group and hurried after the girl as she retreated. He laughed as he saw their dazed expressions and waved back without stopping. "Have a nice day!" Vaun called with his still changing voice, rushing away before they had the chance to follow. But first, he had to make sure that girl was alright. But, where did she go?

[lori]

Lori continued walking aimlessly. She had nowhere to go; if she went home like this, her parents'd withdraw her from public activities for sure. On the other hand, if she went to the hospital, they'd have to contact her father for health insurance information. She was stuck.
Lacking any friends to go to in this situation, she kept on till she couldn't anymore, and sagged against a bench.
Damn, why does it hurt so much? Lori thought absentmindedly. The haze of pain was getting thicker, and blackness started to eat at the edges of her vision.
CRAP! she cried mentally, as she lost the battle against unconsciousness and blacked out against the cold wood of the bench.

[Melody<3]

As Vaun rounded the second corner after escaping the group of boys, he decided it was safe to stop and skidded to a halt. He leaned up against the wall, panting a little bit as he rubbed his very noticeably bruised cheek. Damn, that kid might have not been the biggest but he could pack a punch. He just hoped it didn't swell up to his eye. that would be even worse. Sighing, Vaun started walking again. At least that rumble had warmed him up!

As Vaun continued walking down an empty strip of the residential district, he noticed a lump lying on a bench up ahead. He rolled his eyes and grumbled to himself. Probably someone left their trash lying around. Lazy slobs, He thought, decideing to pick it up. But as he got closer, his one good eyes finally came into focus and he noticed it wasn't a bag at all, but the girl that had gotten him that bruise!

Worry crippled him for a second as he stood motionless a couple yards away. What was she doing just lying there? He expected the worst and hurried up to her side, pushing her gently.
"Hello?" Vaun utterly quietly, continuing to rock her back and forth, oblivious to the fact she had fainted. "Anybody home?" He poked her in the forehead and waited to see if that would wake her up, hoping it did. She was still breathing at least, or at least he thought she was. He never was good at that kind of stuff. He could barely tell a fish had died even if it was floating at the top of it's tank.

[lori]

"Nnngh.. Five more minutes, Mom.." Lori muttered, twitching a foot. Only she could faint, and then have it shift into a simple nap.
Accidentally jostling her broken wrist, she yelped and sat bolt upright, only to be assaulted by a pounding headache. Completely oblivious to Vaun standing next to her, she cradled her tender arm carefully, trying to figure out what to do.
About two minutes later, she actually noticed someone close by. Twisting around to face him, she relaxed slightly as she noticed the kid from before.
Whom, she noticed with relief, was just fine, apart from a nasty bruise on his cheek.
Lori swallowed slightly, searching through her "women's repertoire of manners" for something to say when you get chased by a bunch of guys, are saved by another guy, and said savior gets pwned (for lack of a better word) by the gang.
She settled with a "Hey, you okay?"

[Melody<3]

Vaun let out a small smile of relief as Lori spoke and woke up, only to have it turn into a frown a second later as she yelled out in pain. That wrist must be worse then he thought. He let out an inaudible sigh and fixed his hat as it threatened to cover his eyes. He stood there, rubbing his cheek and tapping his foot as he waited to be addressed. Was the girl that oblivious that she didn't notice him standing next to her?

"Uh," Vaun started, only to be cut off as the girl finally noticed him. Took her long enough. He thought, switching from rubbing his cheek to rubbing his nearly blind blue eye. "I'm fine," He mumbled in his usual low, soft tone. He dropped his hand and stuffed them both in his pockets, starting to get a chill again. "I'd be more worried about yourself. That crack didn't sound too good." He bent down to look at her wrist, his blue eye closed as he focused on it with his good one. "Might be a compound fracture. Those things can be dangerous." His voice didn't even hold any signs of worry or care, but he was really worried inside. Those sort of fractures can get nasty infections rather quickly. He would know, he's seen so many from street fights and boxing as well as had one himself.

[lori]

Lori's eyes went wide.
"H-how do you know?" She tried to remain stoic, but her voice betrayed her. "Are you some kind of medical genius?"
The full reality of her situation hit her, and she began to hyperventilate. She had to get treatment, which meant that her parents had to find out, and that would lead to them pulling her out of public school and barricading her inside the house for the rest of her life.
She couldn't let them know.
Lurching forward to cling onto the other's sleeve with her good hand, she looked him in the eyes. "I need you to help me," she begged, fear apparent in her expression.

[Melody<3]

Vaun shrugged as the girl asked him about how he knew so much about the injury. He actually knew squat about medical terms and stuff like that, but he did know a bit about broken bones from having so many. "Not really," He replied, pulling his hands out of his pockets to fix the hair that stuck out of his black, fleece hat. "Just kinda know a lot from experienc-"

Vaun was cut off as the girl gripped his striped sleeve in her fist, pleading for help. His eyes were wide with confusion and he just stared down at the girl, wondering why she was asking him, a complete stranger for help. Why didn't she just go home to her mommy and daddy? They couldn't be any worse then his parents at the moment. But he simply sighed and tried to wriggle his arm free from her grasp. Why did he have to always try and do the right thing? Like his dad said, it would end up killing him in the end.

"Alright, alright," Vaun finally agreed, holding his hands up like he was under arrest. "Just chill out." He scratched the back of his neck with his hand and looked from side to side. What should he do? He decided to do the smart thing. "We are going to have to get you to some sort of hospital, though. Can't risk you catching an infection," Vaun rose a brow at himself. He was making himself sound smart. Ha, that was a first.

[Wafflez]

_{The teenager teetered on the back of the bench, leaning against the brick building that was positioned behind it. Commotion was common in the world, but seriously what the hell was with all the racket? Trinket fluffed out her tri-colored bangs with a hand, turning to glance down the street. To her it sounded as if someone was having a heart attack amungst the steady stream of people, and the girl pondered for a second before grabbing her messenger bag and heading down the stream.
'Who would be making such a fuss....', her crystal eyes only took a few seconds to spot the spazzing girl, and her curiosity took hold. Trinket trudged over, coming up beside Vaun with a scowl. "Oi- having' a heart attack in the middle of the street?" The trenchant words easily slipped off her tongue at Lori, digging her hands into her trench's pockets.}

[lori]

Lori blinked. "But-"
She trailed off as another stranger appeared on the scene, impolitely staring at said stranger's odd-colored hair. She didn't comprehend what the other female said until after she finished talking. "Heart attack..? Uh.. no." Lori shot the person a glare, clearly on edge from the craziness of the last two hours or so.
She sat back, cradling her wrist as she waited to see how Vaun reacted to this stranger. She was a follower rather than a leader.