Which way is North? (Nick, but if he can't take it - open)
"Mom?"

Something very important must've been going on somewhere in the city. The subway was overflowing with people in a hurry, people shouting curses at each other, and people bumping into her shoulder when she wasn't being careful. They did not apologize to her, and she had not told them to watch where they were going. She'd only protected the child as best as she could and heard Elise mutter darkly about how they should mind their manners. About how their mother's weren't as nice as hers, obviously, since they bumped into people and didn't say that they were sorry. As far as Elle was concerned there were two types of 'I'm sorry''s, one that comes straight from the bottom of your heart and is the absolute reality of remorse, and then there is the sort of 'i'm sorry' that comes from having a gun to their head - when they will say anything that the other person wants to hear. She'd learned that a lot of people were not genuine. A lot of people here were only out for themselves. It made her sad, and feel entirely alone, alienated, and amiss. The only thing she had was this kid. This little ball of energy who couldn't stop talking about their destination - Chinatown.

"Mom?"

Elle was carrying out her finest holding skills; the pale green tile against the skin of the back of her legs felt cold from pressing here against the wall to avoid collisions. Her arms were wrapped around the front of Elise's little body to keep her away from the crowd, and as she pulled the pink hood of Elise's jacket over her little head, she pulled her own dark green hood over her own hair too. Unlike Elise's jacket, hers was simple and clean with only the faint embroidery of like-colored flowers - whereas Elise had cat ears on top of her head and whiskers that stuck out at the sides. Elise had chose it specifically, because the cat who often visits their apartment's balcony, who she named 'kitty' had orange ears like the ones her jacket had. Elle had bought it for her along with a matching purse, and purchased herself some dark blue jeans and a large paisley umbrella for today, whose hook was latched to her wrist. Just in case it rained. Both wore their long black hair down so that their ears wouldn't feel chilly.

"Mommy?"

Yesterday, Elle and Elise had decided on a whim to visit Chinatown this afternoon. Elle had only faintly remembered that usually the systems for planning fail. When was the last time she had been to the subway? It felt new somehow, even if the ghostly images haunting her psyche painted portraits of this perfectly. If not for the 'subway' signs, she may have gotten lost. But here they were, in the subway station. Trying to get going on their adventure. She inhaled deeply - the smell of cigarette smoke, the smell of oil, the smell of bad perfume, the smell of unwashed hair. It was making her feel a little dizzy. She could not remember the last time she'd been in such a big crowd. She felt invisible...

"Mommy?Mommommmomomomomomom.."

"Do you know whe--" The person passed her by without a glance and ran into the sliding glass doors of the train. They closed shut tighly, a loud *DING* echoing somehow in the corners of the high ceiling, and it sped off down into the tunnel where it vanished. Why couldn't she remember which train to take to get there?

She'd been to Chinatown before ... hadn't she? She could remember when she was younger going there and having dinner with her mother. She couldn't remember what they had talked about, but it must've been something funny, she remembers laughing.

"Mom?"

"Excuse me?" Elle had spoken up this time, her tone urgent and curious as a new train arrived and new faces poured out of the opened doors. "Sir? Can you he--"

"I ain't got no change lady! Go get a fuckin' job!" his pitch was the voice that stole Christmas. And Elle's face from being shouted at was as red as one of the stockings on the mantel.

Elise gasped, "YOU SAID A BAD WORD! YOU SAID THE "F" WORD!" and Elle covered her mouth abruptly. "We weren't going to ask for.."

"FUCK OFF!" The man stormed off through the crowd with his suit case and long red tie. Elle felt offended, felt that she should've said something else, anything else. She'd only winced very faintly, and said nothing. Instead when he was gone, her chin inclined as she'd tilted her head to look down into Elise's wide eyes. "Don't ever treat people that way," she'd said softly to her daughter, moving her hand away from her very honest mouth,"Listen to them, give them a chance. Always give everyone a chance. Okay?"

"What about Shadey Von Shadowstein from the cartoon? The one guy in the cape? The one guy who sells Dracula cups?" Elise raised her arms up narrowly avoiding hitting a woman's waist. "RAAAAAAAAAWWWWWRRR!"

"Except for him - and don't talk to strangers." Elle's index and fore ran up Elise's shoulder like a miniature jogger, and landed behind the stuffed cat ear of her hoody. "Does the kitty like to be scratched?" she'd inquired, but she was already scratching the fake ear and Elise was nodding 'yes' vigorously, clutching her mother's wrists, and pretending to pur. Which was to the best of her ability, a very low raspberry sound of her tongue pressed between her lips. That scene may have deterred others from their journeys, but Elle was bound and determined to show Elise Chinatown today. One rude man wouldn't compromise their adventure.

Elle glanced up to another passerby, "Excuse me!" she did her best to sound softer, and clearer this time. Why had someone thought she needed change? Obviously the two were well taken care of, their clothes were normal, clean, and neither had splotches of a healthy gray on their cheeks like the sea urchins in the T.V. show she was watching last night. She spoke as quickly as possible to avoid that happening again.

"Do you know which train would take us to Chinatown?"

She would remember this time.