A/N: - please forgive my shakey attempts at the Acadian language. It's a very beautiful language and really doesn't deserve what I've done to it

Je suis perdu, juste un petite peu

It had taken him only a few short hours to reach New Orleans, stepping off the train and sliding past the ticket barriers without ever having paid a cent of his own money he strolled out onto the city streets. He carefully got into a taxi, keeping an eye out for anyone who might want to be aware of his presence in the city, calling it to a stop near the outskirts as he spotted a vendor. He hopped out of the car and sauntered over, pulling out five dollars that he'd lifted from the drivers wallet along the way.

Remy LeBeau grinned, buying a packet of real, Cajun, Praline frosted pecans...and on second thought buying three more. Stuffing them in various pockets he nodded to the vendor and heading off again. Half an hour through the Bayou there was a patch of swampland, only those brave enough or stupid enough to cross it would find the ramshackle old mansion and those looking at it would suppose it haunted.

He smiled, feeling brave, and stepped out onto the path – where he was instantly bombarded with sticks and stones until he curled up in a protective ball,

"Ah! Non! Remy comes in peace bearin' candy!" He called out, trying not to laugh and holding his hands up as his pockets were frisked. Three packets of praline frosted pecans, several packets of cards, a couple of sticks of gum and a rubber ball lighter, Remy was shoved along,

"NAAAAAAANIIIIIIIII!" The children screamed out as he was tugged along, "REMYS BAAAACK!" He was dragged, poked and prodded up the porch steps, through the hallway and into a kitchen,

"Ah- ah it's our farlaque Remy heh?" The wizened old woman, so bent over that she was barely taller than his waist, reached up to pat his face, a grin making her clever black eyes disappear for a moment behind a mountain of wrinkles, it faded quickly into a look of motherly disapproval, "you need to shave you little païen, how d'you ever expect to get a pretty femme if you give her a rash every time she gets close heh?" She chided moving away, "now sit down, enfant, an' Nani qu'ri you some nice poutine râpée, heh? Y'always liked dat when you wiz a chil'" Remy rolled his eyes skyward, giving an expression of being much put upon when in fact he was overjoyed to see that she was still alive, moving over to sit on a messy chair, several interchangeable children scrabbling to sit on his lap as Nani brought over food for him,

"Ouâille, Nani - ah!" He winced as she clouted him up the back of the head with a ladle, "what?!"

"Y'say merci when y'get food Remy!"

"Merci! Merci beaucoup, merci already Nani, geeze" He grouched, rubbing the back of his head with one hand and making faces to make the children laugh as the old lady shuffled off. Remy started eating, closing his eyes in bliss as the little potato and pork parcels were swiftly devoured by the others sitting round him, "so Nani" He called out nonchalantly, "what's been happenin' wit' de guilds?" Silence fell around the table before the children were quickly and efficiently herded out. Nani rounded on him,

"You! You cotchine!" Remy winced from her explosion, "you better not be messin' wit' those people again! You know how bad dey beat you las' time-" She was cut off as Remy stood up, gently taking hold of her wizened hands in his own,

"Nani, shush, dis is important you hear me?" He said firmly, watching her settle back down and drawing her over to sit at the table with him, "now, s'il vous plait, mon petite délicatesse, could you be serious pour un élan an' tell Remy wha's goin' on wit' de guilds?" Nani looked at him for a long moment before sighing and shaking her head,

"Aw, ma cher, you're gonna end up mort ou arien if you keep messin' wit' dese people" She sighed heavily, "but..." Several hours alter and Nani had exhausted herself, her tired old eyes starting to close and her chin heading downwards as she fell asleep. Remy chewed his lower lip, taking in everything she'd told him. Moving silently over usually creaky boards, he found a warm blanket and carefully tucked it around her in the chair. So...New Orleans had got rougher since he'd been gone...but surely it wasn't anything he couldn't handle? He moved to go and Nani's hand shot out, pressing something firm into his palm, never once opening her eyes, "be careful, Remy"

"Merci, Nani...go to sleep heh?" He whispered in reply, looking down at the tarot card she'd pressed into his hand...the Fool...

Half an hour later and Remy LeBeau was trying to remember the outlay of the city. He walked along a railing that was little over an inch thick, over fifty feet up...grinning as he remembered things he'd forgot long ago...oui, if Remy just turns like so an' lets himself drop ten feet... Remy landed on someone's balcony, swinging down to drop another ten feet to the following one before using the fire escape to walk gently to the ground. Gadelle but he'd missed this city -

"LeBeau?" He moved quickly, plastering himself against the shadowy wall of the alleyway he'd landed in, already knowing it was too late when he felt the dull press of telepathy against the inside of his mind, only one person that could be...

"Jac" He said in bright, brittle tones, eyes never ceasing from darting around, looking for a way out even as he spotted two, three, five at the entrance and exit of the alley, a further two high up on the fire escape and three more on the roof...inwardly swearing at himself and wondering how long he'd been followed for Remy tried to stall for time, "it's been some time, homme, how's it?"

"Should never have come back, LeBeau" Jac, one of the members of the Thieves Guild, said in cruel tones. Remy looked up...they'd been friends once. Or at least, as close to friends as thieves could be. But now there was no hint of kindness about Jacs face, the men closed in and somehow the shadows surrounding Remy got darker,

"an' don' bother reachin' for a card Remy" Jac said, gesturing over his shoulder. Remy followed the gesture, recognizing one of the kids from Nani's in the grip of one of the Thieves, unconscious,

"Oh don' worry, he ain't hurt...an' he'll stay that way as long as we don' end up gettin' blown up" Remy nodded, letting his hands drop and feeling resignation open coldly inside him as the men moved closer...one of them had a baseball bat...

"Alright homme...le's get dis over wit' heh?"

Nani's rocking chair creaked on the front porch. She'd woken up, as old people were prone to doing so, in the early hours. Early enough to watch the sun come up, early enough, in fact, to watch a tired figure slowly limp their way towards her house, carrying a small limp bundle wrapped up in a trench coat.

She knew it was Remy even before she could see him,

"How many?" She asked as he laboriously climbed the porch steps,

"Dunno…'bout ten?" Remy said, spitting blood to one side as he handed over a child, the one that the thieves had used to make sure Remy wouldn't fight back, wrapped up in his own trench coat,

"They didn' kill you?" She asked in an emotionless tone, "you don' look like any kind of ghost-"

"Remy an' Jac go back a long way…he said for ol' times sake he was gonna let Remy l-" He wince heavily, one hand going to his ribs, probably broken Nani thought, "let Remy live" He said in strangled tone, not looking up at her. Even in the morning light Nani could see the dark bruises on his face, down his neck and on the back of his hands,

"They're gon' know you're here, bibi, they gon' know an' you're gon' get yousel' killed" She said, voice finally braking as she started to weep,

"Hey…don' brâille, Nani" He said softly, usually smooth voice made harsh with keeping in the pain, "Remy'll be gone in de mornin' but right now he…he jus' needs to rest up a bit ok?" He croaked, clumsily wiping the tears from her cheeks. Nani shook her head, holding the sleeping child in her arms, watching Remy limp slowly, painfully out of the room,

"Ah non LeBeau" She whispered softly, stroking the child's brow and wrapping him in a blanket, "you gonna cale way way down before you go home, jus' you get some sleep, ma tchorieux cotchine…tomorrow's gonna be one hell of a day for you"

Fini

Translations (hopefully) -

Farlaque - wild (of easy virtue...essentially a 'tart')

Païen - uneducated person/hick

Ouâille - yeah, yep.

Un elan - a moment

Mort au arien - dead or worse

Brâille - cry

Cale - fall (?!)