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Alexis was, as far as anyone could tell (and as far as they cared to be perceived as), just another teenage/street-age hoodlum -- in clothes tailored to fit them a little, which was perhaps better than the authentic ones could say, but. This wasn't Alexis' time. So they could have a little fun, if nothing they did would be remembered.

So, the point was, it wasn't anything unusual if they hung out on the edge of people's vision and listened to the gossip - and as soon as they heard the word 'magic', they leaned closer, moving ahead so that they'd hear more of the conversation without being obvious. Something was up.

Darcie O'Hare
Nov 1 1922
Darcie stretched as she exited the house that was so kind as to have given her lodging. In turn she had been cleaning and caring for their dog, but she was fine with that. It was just like home, in a way. Darcie looked around, she had been getting by doing under the table work, but it was difficult. Being female meant she was often not the one chosen for the physical jobs that were so common. She changed her stretch to ease a kink out of her back, then stood up straight, rubbing her sore muscles. She was used to physical work, but it was a little more intense without the wonders of modern technology.

While Darcie was trying to ease the effects hard labor were having on her body, she overheard someone say "magic". It was odd, normally she would not blink at all to overhearing the word, but here, and after all the... events that occurred in the forest, she had her ears out for the word. The couple were whispering secretively, and Darcie felt a bit out of place. Was she to go up to the two and ask them about it? Or should she be a little more discrete? Darcie ended up standing in place, scratching at the rough hat she had to wear to hide her fashionable hairstyle.

Preacher had strolled into the square after being chased off of one of the other streets. She'd gotten a visit from the cops after an unhappy customer had complained she was scamming him. And she hadn't been, mostly. It was just cup and ball and his eyes had been too damn slow and maybe the ball had been slipped up her sleeve before she lifted the cup. When the cops visited, she played it straight and got a warning to pack up and go back to her parents. Parents, hah!

All in all, she was making an okay profit, though she couldn't cheat and win every time or people got suspicious. She looked around, wondering if this was too fancy for her. Preacher had a sturdy box (it folded up if she was careful), her balls, and her cups, and a large sign that said "You'll Believe It's Magic!". She saw the couple, heard the words, and that was interesting, wasn't it? She made sure he hair was secured under her hat. It was easier to pass off as a younger boy than she'd thought - it was probably her ********' height.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. With a spring in her step, she jogged up to the couple. "Heard ya like magic. Tell ya fortune for a nickel a piece. If I get it wrong, y'can tell me right n' it won't cost ya!"

"We should," he agreed, "because you'll love this." He was bright eyes and smiles and there was a secret in the curve of his smile as he leaned towards her to tell her another part.

At least until someone spoke and they were given a once over and found wanting.

"You heard her, move on, dry up. You're on the wrong street for that kind of business and we've no interest." His arm tightened just briefly around the woman he was with but that was to move away. Protective was the word.

Veronica was on break. She was sitting outside, taking a few minutes for herself and munching on a snack, when the conversation between a loud-- couple? Called her attention. She glanced toward them, feeling nervous she was hearing something so obvious. Information didn't just fall on someone's lap like that. At least, in her experience, it took a little more. She'd recognized Alexis and Darcie from afar, but decided not to approach, merely continuing to eat her snack in silence, head slightly bowed as the two passed by her. She'd recognized the darker skinned teen who'd approached the couple as one of their group, feeling a little bad for the kid as they were so easily brushed off by the two. Maybe they just needed to stick around some.

Veronica continued to chew.

"Y'missing the-" He shook his head. "You would do better at the fairy alley than here with this kind of game." There were plenty of places the other youth would be able to do something like that.

It just wouldn't work with two that knew what they did.

"That isn't even the first time that's happened," he said to his companion, watching the retreating back of the ragamuffin, "because there's more of those cropping up. Trying to take advantage of those who don't know real magic from parlor tricks."

Preacher had scribbled down 'fairy alley' and was shoving it in her pocket when the woman called out to her. She stopped for a moment, closing her eyes in a rare 'oh s**t' moment before spinning back around. Smiling apologetically, she approached hands still in her pockets.

"Now, miss, my magic ain't so fancy and flashy as all that. I can't do fireballs. But I can do small things - bypass a lock, see a possible future, sometimes other things. I mean, I have somethin' to show you iffin ya really wanna see." Her fingers gripped the edge of her smartphone in her pocket.

"But," she grinned widely. "-nothin' in this world is really free."