Loser! That was the only word that came to Arthur's mind as he lay on the damp, dirty street; doing his best to shield himself from the kicks of the kids that had taken his sign. As blow after blow landed, he realised that he had probably made the wrong decision in choosing to chase after them. But hindsight was a wonderful thing.
Why did this always happen to him? Why did the only luck that he ever seemed to have, was bad? Oh hell! Who was he kidding? He knew why he always got the short end of the stick. It was because he was one of life's losers. Always the loser.
"Hey! You little shits!" A voice suddenly exclaimed. The kicks of his current tormentors being replaced by the sound of running footfalls. Arthur not bothering to move from his foetal position, as he felt a hand press itself against his aching body.
He wanted to shout at the person. To tell them that if they wanted a go too, that they should just get on with it. That he no longer cared. That whatever they were going to do, wouldn't be anything to what he already experienced. Yet as much as he tried, the words failed him. His gasping breaths, too shallow to allow him to say anything. The only thing coming from his lips, was the sound of a pained groan.
"Hello. I know that this is probably the dumbest question ever. But....are you ok?" A soft tone enquired. The hand that had been resting on his bicep, now gently rubbing his arm. Arthur slowly and painfully uncurling himself. His aching body turning to look up at the face that hovered over his.
"Am.......am I dead?" Arthur hesitantly asked, as he gazed up at the angelic visage that peered down at him.
"Er......not quite. Although we are in Gotham. And sometimes I think that this is about as close as you can get to hell on earth. Can you get up?" The woman replied with a chuckle, as she helped Arthur to slowly move to a sitting position, before dusting him off as carefully as she could.
"Those little bastards are a law unto themselves. All they do is hang around on street corners and make trouble. Luckily, they are too scared to mess with me. Hey! Take it easy. Don't move too fast. You just took quite a beating. You need a minute to get yourself together." She added, placing her hand on his shoulder and pushing him back down, as he tried to get to his feet.
"It........its okay. I'm used to it. I......I'll be fine. Really. I..........." Arthur replied, as he continued to try and rise to his feet.
"Like hell! I don't care whether you're used to going ten rounds with Ali himself. You're staying put until you stop looking so dazed. Here, let's get all this crap off you." The woman interrupted, as she pulled the green wig from his head, and the red nose from his face. Arthur suddenly realising how hot and sweaty he was, as his fake hair was removed from his scalp and a cool gust of wind hit his damp locks.
"There you go. Much better. Now, let's get you out of this alley, before the local rats think its lunch time. Believe me, if it sits still for long enough and it looks like food, they'll try and eat it." She chuckled again, as she carefully placed Arthur's arm around her shoulder and help him slowly up onto his shaky legs.
"My store is just around the corner. We'll get you there, and you can rest. Oh, and the name's (Y/n), by the way." (Y/n) explained, as she gently manoeuvred Arthur back down the alley. The odd, stray, hungry cat peering out at them from the piles of trash bags as they passed.
"A-A-Arthur. My name is Arthur."
"Well, its nice to meet you, Arthur. Shame it couldn't be under better circumstances, but fate works in mysterious ways I often find. Now, lets get you inside." (Y/n) continued, as she unlocked the door to a small store front. Arthur finding his senses bombarded as they entered the shop. The room filled with a heavy, sweet, sticky scent, as lights and strange objects sparkled and stared down at him for the walls.
He hadn't the chance, or the inclination in truth, to look at the name of the store as (Y/n) had brought him inside. But whatever kind of place it was, he was sure that he hadn't been in anything like it before.
"Welcome to A Little Bit of Magic, Arthur." (Y/n) announced, as she carefully sat him down on a stool behind the counter.
"Here you will find everything that any wicca, warlock, spiritually enlightened being, or just plain unique individual could want to find. I have incense, Tarot cards, crystals and runes. Ankhs, orbs, windchimes and dreamcatchers. If you want something a little unusual, then I'm your girl." (Y/n) laughed, as she noticed the confused look on Arthur's painted face.
"Its......er......its......"
"Yeah, I know. It's a little weird. But what's life if you can't be a little weird? It would mean that you were just like everyone else. And if you ask me, that is a fate worse than death. I would hate to be like everyone else. It would be so boring." (Y/n) told him, as she disappeared behind a heavy velvet like curtain, only to reappear with a small medical kit.
Arthur couldn't really understand her sentiment. He for one wished that he was more like everyone else. That he wasn't, well, that he wasn't so weird. He wished that he could fit in a little more. To never ever be noticed by the multitude of bullies that seemed to home in on him. Yet here was someone that wanted to do the exact opposite. She wanted to stand out from the crowd. To be seen as different. And it seemed more than obvious that she didn't care what anyone else thought.
"So, clown huh?" (Y/n) asked, as she helped Arthur off with his little coat and examined him for cuts.
"Oh, er.......yeah. Clown." Arthur replied with a slight hiss as (Y/n) dabbed a damp ball of cotton on his blooded elbow.
"You must work at that er.....Ha Ha's then. When I opened this place, I got this sweet guy from there, to stand outside. He was this little guy and he looked so cute dressed up as a wizard." (Y/n) giggled as she remembered the pleasure of having the small man around for two days. More than sure that he had spent most of his time inside talking with her, rather than advertising her shop.
"G-G-Gary. His name is Gary."
"That's right. Gary. He was such a nice guy. You know him then?" (Y/n) enquired, as she continued to examine and clean.
"Yeah.......we......we work together." Arthur agreed. Hissing again as (Y/n) placed a fresh cotton ball on another cut.
"And you. Are you a..........."
"Witch!? No. Well not really. Although the idiots around here think I am. And I must admit that I tend to encourage their beliefs. It keeps the kids away from my shop, and the more foolish do tend to give me a wide berth. Which is not a bad thing. Though I confess that don't own a black cat, a cauldron or a broomstick. And as far as I know, I don't stock eye of newt, and toe of frog. Wool of bat, and tongue of dog. Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting. Lizard's leg, or owlet's wing. So, I would be pretty useless if Macbeth's three witches came in." (Y/n) laughed as she threw the last blooded lump of cotton into the bowl of cloudy water on the counter. Arthur not quite sure what to say as he looked at the wonderfully unique woman in front of him. His mind still trying to fathom what she could really be.
"Well Arthur. That's about as much as I can do, I'm afraid. Though from what I saw, I would suggest that you might want to be careful for a few days. I should imagine that you will be sore. You'll probably find that you'll be badly bruised. But, I might actually have something that could help. Come with me." (Y/n) said, as she suddenly disappeared back behind the curtain. Arthur slowly getting up from the stool and following. Not sure what he was going to find.