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Who: Kiden and Laura
What: Dumpster diving is a full time job. Get a friend to help you.
Where: Behind Chimer Market
When: Givdi night
Notes: Teen AAAAANGST /fistclutch
Warnings: It's Laura and Kiden. What could possibly go wrong?

She's been here a little less than a handful of days and Kiden's fighting the urge to slip into No-Time and just camp out there permanently. The only reason why she hasn't done it already is she's worried that the rest of the little group she has as a makeshift family might be here and they're just separated. Again. Wouldn't be the first time, but at long as she stays in regular time, they'll find each other. They always do. She can only hope.

Right now, living with the normal people means she has to eat and eat now. She didn't stick around at the inn long enough to get the free room and board talk from the grandmotherly looking lady who opened the door for her. Being locked in a bedless room didn't endear her to staying anyway. Besides, with her head down in a garbage can at the back of the now closed market, Kiden's in her environment. There isn't much to this environment, though. Nothing but fruits and vegetables in various stages of rotting and bruising. But some still look edible enough if Kiden spends the next half hour picking at those weird looking spots. She has time. It's something she has more than enough of.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I am not."

She looks down at the money in her hand, her expression coming close to a frown -- not quite, but from context one can assume she's unhappy. "I do not need it," she repeats, still holding it out. She knows that street kids don't like taking money as gifts and she knows why -- that free is never free and always comes with the expectation of payment down the line, that any exchange of money is an exchange of power -- but Kiden is her friend and she wants to help her. "I am living with other people. We have more."

... Most of it acquired through less than legal means, but hey, that's always how Laura's gotten money. She still won't be surprised if Kiden won't take it; she'll just have to go to plan B, which is buying food to share and then allowing Kiden to have the vast majority of it.

It's not that Kiden feels that Laura's offer comes with strings attached, but there's a little bit of misdirected pride and a lot more concern about Laura's own wellbeing. It's not like there's a community pot to put their money into and there's definitely nothing for Kiden to put in there either. Living on the streets means everybody puts some work in and there's not much for Kiden to offer Laura, except the now forgotten fruit in her pocket. Cash money is a bigger deal than just some cherries.

"I don't want it." And Kiden's tone says that's final. Instead she hangs onto the next part of what Laura says both curious and thankful for a subject change. "Living with who?"

"Friends." An idea occurs to her -- if she won't take her money (which she reluctantly puts away... for now), she might take their hospitality. At least for a couple days, to give her some time to figure out what she wants to do without having to worry about being locked in or out of the Inn. She hopes Kiden trusts her enough for that to be possible; Laura's never steered her wrong, has never hurt her, has actively worked to protect her and the rest of their motley group, even if she had to kill people to do it.

"It is across the city. I'll show you." She turns, nodding her head for Kiden to follow her. They'll take the train -- there are no cars and walking will take all night -- and hopefully the nearness of her friend will calm her down and give her some time to think.

If there's anybody Kiden trusts her life with more than herself, it's Laura. Even though they may not see eye to eye or even understand each other sometimes, Kiden knows that Laura has her back as much as she has Laura's. Kiden thinks Laura as the lucky sort, the kind to have these friends she can stay with. She probably even has a bed and a shower to use, though Kiden probably appreciates simple things like that more than anybody else would. There's a streak of envy that runs through Kiden, but it disappears as fast as it comes on.

So she nods and follows as directed, shuffling around in her pocket until her hand clasps over the plastic bag in there. "Want a cherry? Or an orange? But peeling's gonna be a bitch." They're still in the bag, hence clean from whatever else was in the garbage can. They could use a good scrubbing, though.

"No." If she thought of it, she would lie to her -- say she already ate earlier so she's not hungry now. She doesn't think to do so like she never thinks to do so and she would be very surprised if it hurt Kiden's feelings, anyway, she's not some emotional delicate flower.

Her claws pop out, snikt, all casual-like, as she walks. "I will peel it." Uh. Maybe best not to eat anything that's touched the knives that have been inside her skin. And inside other people's skin when she stabbed them.

Kiden's feelings are fine. Not everybody enjoys her trashy cuisine, plus she'll just offer it to Laura later, assuming the other girl just isn't hungry.

"Actually, never mind," Kiden says with one eye squinting at Laura's hands. She knows where those claws have been and doesn't know where they have been at the same time. Kiden's not really taking her chances on some weird blood disease transferred to her orange from whoever Laura poked lately. Time for a subject change, anyway.

"How long have you been here?"

Laura kind of half-shrugs, an odd, out of place gesture on her she must have picked up from someone else as she retracts her claws before too many people start getting nervous. She gives the answer absently -- she's a very recent transplant even in terms of Baedal time, it's not much more than a week or so -- but the ease with which she moves around is odd in contrast to that. Then again, she prowled around New York as if she owned that, too, and she'd only been there a few weeks.

When the El in Chimer's End pulls up, she takes Kiden's hand -- unusual for Laura, she rarely initiates non-violent physical contact -- and pulls her along with her onto it.

Out of place, indeed. Enough that Kiden eyes her strangely but then shrugs back, accepting this more normal side of Laura that's beginning to show. The good part is that Laura hasn't been here much longer than her. The bad part is that Laura hasn't been here much longer than her. Kiden's unsure about the people Laura's met and is staying with even more now, so to her, this is less about finding a place to crash and more of a trip to see if these people pass her approval.

"What? No Metrocard? I like this," she announces, falling right in line with the hand holding and not wanting to let Laura go just yet. Her excitement is comes more from the no risk of getting ticketed for jumping the turnstiles, really, but that's a given with Kiden.

Edited 2011-11-23 11:12 (UTC)

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