Silvio is struggling to keep up. What, uhm... where why how?

Ok. You know the badguys, I know the goodguys (a little). So far, when Yi came back, she's heard that Hanna has disappeared. Hanna's the leader of the pack that guards KowKoi (the sept's second shipyard in Kowloon). She was supposedly visiting Central Shipyard, since the hub of the sept is there. When she disappeared, no one managed to find her, or hasn't tried so far. All attempts have met with rather untimely demises, or have ended in retreat. Yi tracked down Ken and Andy, finding out that the last heard from Hanna was that she was going to a restaurant called the Golden Wave, in Central district. Yi happens to be a friend of the owner. So she's gonna go, find out what's up. The owner's name is Martin (Mah Tin). And he is a Corax, Chinese/American descent, from Hawaii, who thought it would be nice to open up a pub-like cafe restaurant thing in Hong Kong and bring a little Aloha to the city.

[That said... on with the show. (^ ^)]

Queensway, Central District
If one thing could be said about Queen's Road, then one would describe this strip as a shopper's paradise. Lined with everything from jewelery shops to tall department stores, it is a little like the 5th Avenue of Hong Kong. Smells wafting east are a virtual cornucopia of food, perfumes, and people. The Central Market is the hub of activity in the morning and afternoon. So this is where the commoners go to buy their groceries, live meat, and other smaller, expensive luxuries. A shopper's paradise, becoming a pimple of life over the underlying cold sprawl of the Weaver's heart that pumps through this part of Hong Kong.

Yi weaves her own way through the midsts of the crowded folk that jumble together like a river of people. Though the majority is Asian by descent, the tourism here is quite the market. Almost as if there was no such thing as a pedestrian way, only the steady flow of cars, mopeds and bicycles keep the people from washing in overflow. It's like returning to paradise for the Gnawer. This is her home. This is where she belongs. And still, a twinge of wrong seems to hover in a cloud over her as she briefly pauses to check a rapidfire sale of live chicken, and another shout coming from the opposite end about deep fried stinky tofu. It has been quite a long time since she's returned here. And the business just gets to her ever so slightly as she moves through the crowds towards a restaurant a few blocks away.

There's things here she mightn't have noticed, in America. The subtle differences don't touch the hordes of tourists, and few of the businessmen, but things are slightly tense. It's not only the Garou who are on edge for no apparent reason. Kids with red headbands-- this is new. They gather in two groups that she can see, one moving off and laughing with each other as they torment a dog, running over the pavement. Another lounges about, attempting to look cool. Gangs, for sure, but kid's stuff. Reading material is a little strange. And there are fewer of the 'Good but poorly off' fellows. Less detritus on the streets. These things she notices, on her way, and more. More cantankerous shopkeeps than usual. Sharpness in the swearing as people narrowly avoid being hit, in the surges of pedestrians that occasionally jam up the roads.

Yi pauses every once in a while. The stops she makes and takes are random, subconsciously designed to throw off pursuit or watch for tailers. She remembers the last actions of Wei Ao. She remembers her rather brief and boisterous meeting with Ken and Andy. And she remembers home not feeling so... off kilter. When the Gnawer sees the kids in red bands tormenting the smaller mutt, she bristles inwardly and stalks over in a weave, like a lioness through grass. Eventually she ends up close by and pauses, thinking. A hissed swear makes her head turn, only to realize it's some lady who stubbed her toe against the cracked ground. A sudden blast from a cab's horn causes the Gnawer to jump and move out of the way, the vehicle almost blasting past her and barely clipping her arm with the rear view mirror. She growls quietly, and forgets about the incident. Her path takes her closer towards the kids with the red bands, ears strained to focus on the topics of their conversation.

The conversation's what she'd expect from teenage boys of their sort. The cool new band. Bragging about what they managed to shoplift. Seeing a girl's breast. One of them claiming to have felt one, and getting shouted down by the others, in derisive tones. One passing schoolkid looks at them too closely, though, and they stiffen up immediately, giving him mean looks, until the kid ducks his head and walks even faster. They're perched on a railing and steps up into a tallish apartment building, squeezed in between a knick-knack's store, and another small building with a natural medicine and acupuncture store. A very smelly restaurant occupies the ground floor--- the rooms probably go cheap.

Yi checks out the building from afar, perhaps wandering a little more close than comfort for the 'boys' would allow. It's her attempt to see the name of the restaurant, that draws her in. Did Martin move, or is this just a cheap owner's attempt to put the Hawaiian Corax out of business? She gauges the reactions of the boys as the schoolkid passes them, and then moves to intercept the kid. Reaching out she taps him on the shoulder. "Hey," she says quietly. "Can you tell me who those boys are?" The newmoon looks at the kid, doing her best impression of a harmless older teen just asking a simple question.

Silvio pages: Asking in chinese or American?

You paged Silvio with 'Your native slangy Cantonese.'.

You paged Silvio with 'He could tell she's from the tougher side, from the way she talks.'.

The kid must jump some six feet into the air at that tap on the shoulder. He shivers and backs away with a start, barely getting her question. And not understanding, either. She's got a hint of American accent, though... she must've been away for a while. He looks to where the boys he passed are, and looks back to her, with wide, frightened eyes. "They're the Youngers." he states, helpfully.

Eyebrows hitching in an arch, Yi doesn't dare look away for fear of losing the boy in the crowds. "Who's their leader, do you know?" The Gnawer slowly, ever so slowly, slips back into her regional dialect. The city really is getting to her.

The kid blinks a few times and then shrugs. "I dunno! They're just big bullies! My friend Zhu fell over and his lunch money fell out, and they kicked him and took it from him and called him /rude/ words and broke his bag and ran off laughing!" She's become Mommy for a moment. An understanding adult.

Yi chances a glance over her shoulder at the boys, counting them briefly before nodding at the girl. "Thanks. Tell Zhu that they'll have to hold onto -their- lunch money a little tighter, now that I know." She gives the girl a quick tip of her head before turning swiftly on heel and proceeding on down the street. Her route is a little more roundabout, and the newmoon is again easily lost in the crowd of people washing by.

Silvio pages: They're pretty damn young. We're talking 14-15 year olds, here. One 16yr old. And yeah, that's a consideration, police. The place has a fairly average restaurant with fresh - live - meats out on display, and bucketloads of rice. Quite a few people eating there. It's a scrappy building, and the kids are around the stairs to a side entrance to the apartments that are probably inside.

As she makes her way back around the other side of the apartment building, and loops back to get a better look at the boys, she only sees one of them as being anything other than a slightly scraped-up street kids. The bigger, older, quieter one - the one who didn't say a word at mention of touching breasts - just watches the others with a preoccupied look. First glance it might seem that he's just dim. Her second glance shows that he's just watching them. Thoughtfully.

Yi slows her path down to a very minor pace, almost to the point of doubling back. Making like she's checking the time on her wrist, she looks at the leader from the corner of her eye. In the back of her mind is that little voice warning her about all the wrongs that could happen. The voice that told her it was wrong to throw in and run with the gangs. Yet, the way the oldest one carries himself, attracts her attention. He looks like someone who knows something. Brief debate flashes through her mind, before she finally gives in to the curious and moves for the group. She approaches them steadily, without worry, and a look directly at the older boy's features. And a brief thought of how stupid those red bands on their heads look.

The older boy looks up as she approaches, and frowns. His head tilts a little, watching her. Noting her stance, in the same natural way that wary prey might watch camouflaged hunters. The others continue to banter mildly and snicker at each other, taunting in fun and making plans for the rest of the night. Most of them involve trying to come up with macho excuses for not going out and doing anything at all.

Yi continues her approach, markedly walking the way John would. Pinning a gaze on the oldest, she waits and politely butts in on the group without even a word, letting her distinct disconcerting feeling of the Curse work.

The apparent leader, frowns, and straightens up. There's something wrong about the girl-- the power of the Curse, and that confidence, that makes his mouth twist uncertaintly, and bluster die in his throat. There's been lots more folks around who make people's spines tingle, these days, though... it's wariness and mild discomfort, not fear that he shows her. "What do you want?" The others fall silent.

"Whatever information your group can give me," Yi replies with equal if not greater harshness. Her eyes don't waver from the leader's, hardening with every second. She hates dealing with punks. This one reminds her of the one that changed her life forever, his pomp and circumstance. "I want to know everything that you know that has been going on in this part of the city." She folds her arms, ignoring the others.

One of the kids in headbands could be no more than ten years old. He just /stares/ at Yi, in terror, as the others look nervously at the leader. He feels the pressure, alright, and frowns. Trying not to sweat. "Why should I tell you? Go to the library, and read the papers. We got shit to do." The little kid plain makes a break for it, running up the stairs.

The flash of a hidden weapon passes, like the barest glimmer of light in the dying sunlight. The leader can feel the headband on his forehead slipping off, just as Yi flips a butterfly knife back into its folded state. She glares briefly at the others, and then looks straight back at the leader. "Don't give me any shit, boy. If I wanted news, I'd watch the tele. I'm talking about the latest in the ground, and I'll beat it out of you in front of your pissies if I have to." Yeah kid. Run. This isn't the path you want.

Five pairs of eyes watch the headband fall away, and the older boy reels backwards, when he realizes what just happened. "SHIT." he swears, straightening up and taking another step back. "Shit, what the fuck is wrong with you, psycho bitch? We're just fuckin' /talking/!"

Yi steps forward as the boy reels, a growl just under her tone. "You really don't have the spine for this stuff, do you..." Her eyes move, and pin each of the boys with a dark gaze. "I saw you kicking that dog. I saw you kicking Zhu and taking his lunch money. The next time I see you, you better have your backs bent over books or helping your grandparents cross the street." The girl, though young, is still a few years older. Though she is nothing like a loving big sister now. "Because if I don't... you'll be sorry you ever put on those stupid red headbands." She uses her foot to kick up the cut band and catches it in her open hand. "What's your name, Youngster?" She pins the question on the leader, parodying their gang name.

The older kid winces, and looks worriedly to the others for a moment, before muttering, "Tong." He doesn't look like he's going to be very cooperative. A moment later, the door into the apartments opens up, and a kid in black trousers and a black t-shirt looks out. He's also wearing dark glass sunglasses, and is perhaps on his way to becoming more than just a kid. Maybe 17 or 18, he certaintly has the seriousness for it. "The fuck?" he queries, stepping out of the building, closely followed by another, taller youth, in much the same get-up. Except this one has a darker expression, and a bomber-style jacket on, in plain black.

The little kid pokes his head out from behind the two near-adults, and ducks back inside again. The older kid, who used to have the headband, backs up a bit, and shakes his head, murmuring, "Oh, you are /so/ fucked, now..."

Yi looks up smoothly, head tilting at a slight angle. The small worm attracts the biggest fish, apparently. The Gnawer doesn't even miss a beat. She's seen worse. In John, that is. Though for the moment, she lets whoever feels like spilling, spill. The newmoon concentrates quietly on a different thought.

The young man in the t-shirt starts down the stairs, eyes on Yi. He moves calmly, tilting his head at this stranger. "S'up, Tong?" he calls down. Tong is moving back from Yi, slowly. The others are, too, pressing up against the walls of the two buildings. One murmurs softly to another, "Shit, I've never seen anyone die before..." Tong hitches a shoulder. "Girl wants to know what's been going on in the streets. She's got a knife. Cut my fuckin' headband." he notes, sourly. Both black-clad boys are on their way down the wooden steps, now.

Yi moves her attention off Tong for now, gripping the boy's headband in her hand. She watches the two older boys make their way down the steps. Oddly enough, she doesn't seem too nervous. If one could count that latent energy running around her as nervousness. "I've been away for awhile. Thought I'd catch up. Seems like your boys are the latest trend." The knife is hidden away, as per Yi's usual way of hiding weapons on her.

The spokesman for the group tilts his head the other way, as he moves down the stairs. He starts frowning at that aura she gives off. He's not supposed to be feeling this... He musters a little extra willpower and banishes the thought. She's a girl with a knife. His friend follows, arms folded. When he reaches the base of the steps, he moves a little closer to her. Standing no more than two feet away. Too close. "Been away too long? You were probably never a player. Get out. Streets ain't safe for wandering girls with knives, these days. Specially not when they threaten Youngbloods little brothers." His tone is calm and even, but disapproval is clearly evident.

The Gnawer doesn't budge, clearly nonplussed by the tough talk. She's heard this too much. Admittedly, in any other case involving Garou there would be the issue of territory and respecting it. "Mm, I see the hospitality is the same, no matter who takes the street corner. And I don't bully the little kids, unlike your gang." She tilts her chin up at the boy lightly. At this point, the tension between the two must be palpable to the others. "You wouldn't happen to know a Ken Cheung, would you?" The newmoon's eyes unfocus for just a moment off the one she speaks to, looking at the bomber jacket wearing boy.

She can't see a thing behind their glasses, but the other boys are clearly now eyeing the street, warily, for watchers. This is a Bad Sign. Those on the street, bustling by, do just that. Bustle by. Even when the guy in the bomber jacket calmly pulls out a heavy .45, and aims it directly at her head. The spokesman says quietly, and a little nervously, "Name dropping's not going to get you anywhere. Don't come here again, and don't hassle Youngbloods again. If you knew Cheung, you'd know that." The other boy cocks the weapon, and the spokesman adds, "Fuck off."

Yi takes in a deep breath of the twilight Hong Kong air, before looking directly at the gun pointed at her, and its carrier. Lips tightening, she shakes her head. "Alright then." The Gnawer turns to one side, looking like she's going to leave. Then, as if the eyes were being tricked by some offcenter source of light, the Gnawer charges in low and off to one side to shove the spokesman in the direction of the shooter. In the second following, her body flows from the charge to the side of the shooter, a low swing of her leg cutting downwards to trip him up.

There's a surprised grunt, and then a growl from the boy knocked down, and the gunman's brows furrow. It all takes place in a split second, that barge causing the frown. The tightness of his features, and the tightening of his finger around the trigger. The barrel lowers, and she can see directly down into its black, hollow depths. Black as death, and beyond. The bodies impact. The gun fires. And then... blackness.

[Ow. What happened? Find out...]

...

... [Time passing by... whee!]

...

... [Aiee! Ok ok I'll stop with the ellipses.]

... (^ ^)

The next sight is... cream; not quite white. Senses return slowly, filtering in as if she has a head full of mud. Or underwater... Gradually, the mud seems to fall out of her ears, letting in sound. And the light doesn't hurt so much, and isn't so fuzzy. Cream, yes. A ceiling, with a neon light in the center. The sounds? It's very quiet. There's a gentle buzz, through walls-- the city lives on. And there's breathing, too. Someone else's, other than her own. When she tilts her head, she looks up into the round, olive face of a police officer, reading a magazine. She seems a little old - mid-thirties, maybe - and the look she gives Yi is kindly enough. "Good morning, sleepy-head."

Yi grunts softly, feeling the muddled, aggled senses kick back into gear. At the voice, her head snaps alert when she realizes she had just...died? The newmoon sits up automatically. Anything in the way of that arc, is gonna hurt.

The woman looks startled for a moment, dropping the magazine and raising her hands to push the girl back down. "Whoa whoa whoa! Easy, there! You're okay! You're okay!" Yi's sitting in a hospital bed, she can tell, now. That smell is unmistakable. There's something... clinging to her head. A bandage of some sort-- or padding and tape... it feels a little sore. The woman looks her over, concerned. "I'll go get a nurse, if you like. Tell them you're awake."

Yi blinks a couple of times, the sore part of her head getting a wince. She resists getting pushed down, though the Gnawer is pushed back down. "No... no nurses. I'm fine." She completely misses the uniform, until the badge on the woman's label catches the light and gleams. She stiffens, and pushes back up. "Who are..." The newmoon stops. Police officer. Hello. Yi shuts up, quicklike.

The woman chuckles, until the girl shuts up. She raises an eyebrow with a wry curiosity. "Oh? Been a bad girl, hmm? Thinking you're in trouble?"

Yi eyes the woman a few times, and clears her throat softly. Looking down at herself, she blinks a few times. Her hand goes up to her throat, searching for the two pendants that were around her neck.

They're still there. But her old clothes aren't. She's clothed in one of those uncomfortable cloth gowns, in a tragic shade of light blue. The woman smiles down on her, as Yi gets her bearings. "Hey. You hear me? Can you tell me your name, honey?" The policewoman pauses. "I really should go get a nurse..." she adds, thoughtfully.

Yi sighs with some relief to find that the pendants are still there, if not her clothes. More mention of nurses, and she looks up, brief panic flashing again over her. This is -not- good. The Gnawer absolutely hates hospitals. "No nurses!" She swallows dryly, moving to get out of the bed as if the very feeling of sitting in it suddenly became akin to sitting on nails. "I really should get back home..." Quickly, she looks around for her clothes. Then stops her somewhat frantic search as the world spins briefly and stops when her body and head stop turning.

"Stop being so silly. You're in a hospital, you've been shot, you're /not/ well, and you're very, very lucky to be alive." The policewoman's voice is stern; she'll brook no resistance from a mere chit of a girl such as this. Especially not a wounded one. "Lie back down, and let these people do what they do best, and let me find out what happened to you." She pushes the Gnawer down again, standing over her and raising an eyebrow - daring her to defy those commands, then turning to move move out quietly, and look for a nurse. She throws a warning look at the girl, pointing a finger at her, and then closes the door with a gentle *click*.

Yi gets pushed back down, only lying there like a tensed spring as she is chided. The Gnawer lays there and watches the policewoman depart from the room. After she's sure about the woman gone for at least a minute or so, the newmoon gets back up out of the bed. She searches the closet, looking for her clothes, hurriedly. A brief glance around the room looks for any open video cameras tacked up to the ceilings.

In that moment's silence, she has time to take in a few things. Four flat walls, and that closet. A chocolate bar, half-eaten, sitting on the bedside table, and a closed container cup of coffee. It smells pretty good, starting to filter in, over the smell of disinfectant. In that sudden motion and shattering of the silence, she has time to notice the view out the window. It's not the highest floor by any means, but if she had to hazard a guess, she'd be on around the 8th to 10th floor, maybe. A quick search of the closet reveals a hell of a lot of linen, a few more of those thin, open hospital gowns, and her clothes, folded up in the top drawer.

And that's about the time that she's sprung. Nurses aren't terribly hard to find, by the looks of it, and both policewoman and nurse enter the room, frowning at the mobile Gnawer in disapproval.

Yi glances up as the two women enter, stifling a curse down from her throat. Instead she switches it for a faint, embarrassed mask of a smile of pleasantry. "I just wanted to see if my clothes were here. Feel kind of...naked under this." Ehhe... no, nothing suspicious. Really. She slips her jacket over her shoulders, and hunches slightly before stepping back towards the bed and sitting on it.

The policewoman's eyes narrow for a moment, as she looks the girl over. "Hmm." she notes, slightly disbelievingly, and the nurse just beckons for her to come over. "You /seem/ to be doing fine." The young woman observes, looking Yi over, and inspecting her closer-up. "Let me see that head." She tips Yi's head up, like some kind of animal, poking and prying at different angles. "Hmmm. Lie down. You still have to tell the officer here how you got here. Do you have family nearby? Someone we can call?"

Shit... family. The newmoon stifles a groan, fearing that any noise may make the nurse think she's actually suffered more than just a graze. And like an animal she allows herself to be inspected grudgingly. "I'm fine on my own," she mutters a little more darkly than her pleasant mask portrays. "And I think the officer knows better than I do how I got here."

The nurse holds Yi's jaw, critically, and frowns. "You're /very/ lucky. You were shot in the head. Lie back down please." she says, in short, clipped tones.

"I really am fine," Yi insists, complying somewhat with a half lying down, half propped up with pillows position. She licks her lips once and asks slowly, "So if I'm fit to leave, will you let me go?" This time, her voice takes on a more innocent tremble. "I haven't done anything wrong. Let me go, please?"

Long distance to Silvio: Yi tacks Persuasion on there, towards the nurse.

The nurse puts her hands on her hips, eyeing the girl wryly. "Alllright... we /do/ need the beds, and you /seem/ to be fine. But you're shaken, and you've received treatment..." She looks to the police officer. "At least tell Officer Xu what happened to you." She looks distinctly uncomfortable. The request goes against every instinct in her body. "And get something to eat, first. And you really /should/ have someone pick you up. You still looked a little woozy." She's torn. "But other than that, you should be discharged easily enough, today, yes. Be careful with that head."

Yi grumbles inwardly, though her face lights up with a bright smile. "Thank you, nurse," she replies as cheerily as possible. "The doctors did a good job, and I thank you for caring so much. I'll be careful." The Gnawer then turns to Officer Xu, and looks at her for a little bit. Tough egg to crack, this one... She smiles a bit more wanly.

Xu Ping is indeed a tough egg to crack, despite the somewhat plushy exterior. She eyes the nurse strangely, surprised at her willingness to let the girl be discharged so easily, and grumbles, "I think we should get a doctor up here, first, yes?" The nurse - clearly not understanding what's come over her - flutters, and mumbles, "Yes, of course officer, right away!" and starts out of the room. As she moves, the policewoman eyes her chocolate bar and adds, "Hey, is it OK if she has some chocolate and coffee?" The nurse simply blinks. "I, uhm... It... she says she's feeling fine, it shouldn't hurt. She definitely needs food." The cop shrugs, and offers Yi the half-eaten bar, as the nurse scrambles away. When the door closes, she chuckles. "And I'm not even on duty. So. Let's try this again. What's your name, honey?"

Yi takes the chocolate out of politeness. Well ok, there is a bit of hunger in that stomach of hers, but right now her head is occupied with other things, like recalling her near death experience. She chomps down on the candy bar. Certainly has a healthy appetite, Yi. Bristling a little bit at the soft 'honey', she chews for a little while. Then she answers quietly, "Li."

Laughing quietly, the policewoman growls, "Like blood from a stone. Li... what?"

"Li... Xiao Li," Yi responds, killing the chocolate with her teeth. She inwardly apologizes to her best friend of the past, and continues in her facade of healthy, cheery Yi. Finishing the chocolate she licks off what remains along her lip and wipes the rest onto some portion of the blanket. "Do you mind if I put my clothes on?"

The cop eyes this behaviour with a lowered eyebrow, then shrugs. "Might want to wait for the doctor, but I'm not stopping you. I want to know how it is I found you face-down and bleeding from the head. What were you doing, Xiao Li?"

Yi gets back up to retrieve her clothes from the closet, walking as confidently as she can. Opening the door to block the policewoman's view, she starts slipping on her wardrobe. Briefly, she peeks around the side. "Could you, close your eyes? Please?"

The officer chuckles, and rolls her eyes. "Sure Li." She turns away, chuckling softly, covering her face with one hand.

Yi checks for certain that the officer isn't looking, before ducking behind the closet doors. Making sure that they hide the majority of her form leaving only a slight crack, she loosens the stretchy bandage around her head a bit. She shifts briefly to glabro, hunched over to hide her form and make it a little more compact, waiting a little bit before shifting back. Then the Gnawer proceeds to slip on her clothes and retighten the bandage about her head. Fully dressed, she steps back out from behind the closet doors and puts on an award winning smile of homeliness. "You can look now."

[Ahahaha. To Be Continued ...]