easy money -- OPEN

[KARINA LI ITO]

The transition from having everything one could possibly want, to having very little was a culture shock. The first couple of days back on Persephone had made the former native long for Shinon. Well, at least for all the material comforts that Shinon had provided.

She didn't miss the knowing looks from older men, or the outright glowers from upper class ladies. They were like sharks in the water, rich folk. The could just...tell when someone wasn't one of them. No matter how hand you tried to fit in, how many lessons and lectures you underwent. It was something in the way you moved, that said 'this person wasn't born wealthy'.

Being that big of a snob was something that you had to learn from a young age.

So here she was again. Her absolute least favorite planet in the verse. But aside from Shinon it was the only one she'd ever known. So it was the only one she could go back to.

It'd been easier this time around. She was clean, and she spoke well, and she could even read and write. Getting a job wasn't as impossible as before-- but it still wasn't really what she wanted. To be selling trinkets out of a tiny closet sized shop, and getting yelled at in angry Chinese by the owner every time she so much as breathed wrong.

Kara found herself daydreaming of sailing on the great lakes of Shinon, of visiting the Companion temple, just to say she'd seen one. They hadn't even batted an eye-- most assuming her one of them.

Imagine that? Being mistook for a Companion. It had made her giddy.

It was such a far cry from life on Persephone that sometimes Karina thought she'd dreamed the whole thing up. It only took reaching up and touching the small gold hoops in her ears to reassure her otherwise, but it still seemed a lifetime ago.

Kara sighed as she closed up shop for the day, locking the doors carefully behind her. Dinner would probably be some undisclosed meat from a fry cart, and then back home. To read her latest novel of interest.

She could do that now, and no one could take it away.

[KAILA "MAGPIE" AMELL]

Despite its always abundant offering of jobs, Persephone had never been one of her favourite worlds to search for work on. It was its people, its great teeming mass of bodies stemming from all walks of life that truly put her off. They were never welcoming, never kind like they were on so many other planets she visited. She felt like an alien every time she came back, estranged by each class in their own unique way. The rich were always cold, the poor always needy, and all the rest just blatant reminders of everything she had lost or left behind. It left her with a horrid, uncomfortable feeling in her gut and a strong desire to run away. Were it not for those jobs, she would never come back at all.

Work was usually easy enough to find. On a planet as scum-filled as Persephone, there was always somebody willing to spend a bit of coin to get their dirty work done. All it took to find them was the right connections and a bit of patience. She had already found several possible offers of work in the week since she returned here, though so far none of them payed enough to truly pique her interest. So she waited, biding her time until something better turned up. She knew it wouldn't be long.

Nevertheless, waiting was tiresome for her. She wanted to get off this godforsaken rock as soon as possible; being back here for too long drained her. So she began to take walks, trying to take her mind off things. She browsed stores and mingled with the locals. Anything was better than staying locked up in her mind.

She was on one of those walks, daydreaming despite herself, when she stumbled in to someone. They were a young woman, probably not much younger than herself, with bright red hair and blue eyes. "Watch where you're going." she barked, managing to sound indignant despite her embarrassment at her own stupidity. Her time on Persephone had left her feeling agitated. Maybe a fight would make me feel better.

[KARINA LI ITO]

Kara dropped the shop keys in her satchel before turning away-- only to slam right into a rather muscular someone. The redhead reeled back, an angry outburst on her tongue.

The stranger beat her too it though, barking out "Watch where you're going." As if it was her fault.

Of all the idiotic, things to say! She'd just been minding her own business, closing up shop like normal. And this ben tian sheng de had the nerve to act like it'd been her fault. Karina bristled, shooting a dark glower at the other woman as she readjusted her bag on her shoulder. The old her would have flown off the handle, but Kara wasn't dumb.

No telling what sort of person tromped around Persephone, and she didn't care to meet the business end of a pistol. She wasn't entirely cowed though, too many years on the street had made her temper too hot.

"Where I'm from when someone walks into someone they say excuse me." Karina muttered, grudgingly admitting that it wasn't entirely truth. Not many on Persephone had manners. Schematics.  With that the woman dusted herself off, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at the woman in front of her expectantly.

She wanted that damn apology.

[KAILA "MAGPIE" AMELL]

Magpie's gaze flickered over the woman in front of her. She was slender, soft, someone who didn't look accustomed to battle. Huh. Beating her in a fight would be easier than conning that Beaumonde socialite with fool's gold. Piece of cake. She plastered a smirk on her face as she saw the dirty look the other woman sent her way. She's got some fight in her. Good. This could be more fun than I thought.

She paused, waiting for any movement, any indication that this girl was going to give her what she wanted. She heard the stranger mutter an indignant whisper, "Where I'm from when someone walks into someone they say excuse me." , and curled her right hand into a fist. She was angry. Good. Anger she could deal with.

A few more seconds passed, but the red-haired girl did nothing else but cross her arms over her chest and stare. Too zai zi. What was she doing? Was she honestly expecting a gorram apology? An excuse me? I wanted a fight, not this.

Her sneer grew and she crossed her arms, assuming a haughty stance. "You're not honestly expecting me to apologize are you?" She cocked an eyebrow. "Do you even know how things work here? Are we even on the same gorram planet?" She chuckled. "Look. Let me tell you how it goes," her voice dripped with condescension, "You ask for an apology here, and all you're going to get is a punch in the face or a good ol' 'gun kai!' in response. Okay?"

[KARINA LI ITO]

The woman in front of her sneered, and crossed her arms. Whether it was intentionally mimicking or not, it was damn irritating. Kara in response stood up straighter, tossing her head slightly to push the hair away from her face. She didn't want to occupy her hands when this cho ya de was standing right in front of her.

"You're not honestly expecting me to apologize are you?" The woman said, one obnoxiously arrogant eyebrow raising. "Do you even know how things work here? Are we even on the same gorram planet? Look. Let me tell you how it goes. You ask for an apology here, and all you're going to get is a punch in the face or a good ol' 'gun kai!' in response. Okay?"

"Please." Snapped Kara, ignoring the part of her that was telling her to keep her big yap shut. "I grew up on this gao se world." She leaned her hip to one side, sizing up the older woman with one long look. "You're just another spacer acting like you're tough shit."

Taught to be a lady or not, reformed street kid or not-- no one fucked with her in the middle of her hometown. Especially not some hopped up spacer with an attitude. "So apologize. It won't kill you."

---

Spoken Mandarin: Gao Se (crap)

[KAILA "MAGPIE" AMELL]

Ooh. Somebody thinks they're tough. Magpie thought as she watched the younger woman straighten her back. Making herself bigger. Classic intimidation technique. The soldier in her couldn't help but roll its eyes. I bet she's never seen what real intimidation looks like. Size has nothing to do with it.

But just as she opened her mouth to inform the red-head about how little her efforts were doing, the other woman spoke. "Please. I grew up on this gao se world." Oh, she had definitely managed to strike a nerve. "You're just another spacer acting like you're tough shit. So apologize. It won't kill you."

"Acting?" She spat out the word with a laugh. "You think I'm just pretending to be tough? You think I don't know that I can kick your jien huo tail to next week?" She took a step forward and shook her head. "Oh you silly little sha gwa, you have no idea what I'm capable of." A small, cold smile took the place of her sneer as she moved even closer. "I have ended lives and saved them, broke people and help put them back together. I have done things, horrible things that would make you skin crawl, and I" her voice dropped, "do not apologise. Her face brightened. "So how about you rethink your stance on this whole 'apology' thing? Okay?"

---

Mandarin:
Jien huo - Cheap floozy
Sha gwa - Fool

[KARINA LI ITO]

Karina wasn't sure what she'd wanted out of this confrontation. In all honesty she probably should have just stayed quiet and walked away--even if this crazy woman was dead wrong. It'd been a fair while since she'd been in any sort of fight, and years since anyone had hit her. She wasn't sure how well that whole pain tolerance thing fared when it wasn't put to good use.

Nor was the newer and more delicate version of her terribly interested in finding out.

"Acting?" The woman spat back, making Kara raise her eyebrows. Nerve, struck. "You think I'm just pretending to be tough? You think I don't know that I can kick your jien huo tail to next week?" Now she was stepping forward, and Karina was all too tempted to abandon her efforts at helping make this woman a more well rounded individual/getting her damn apology. It was stubborn pride more than anything that kept her rooted to the spot, even as the older woman closed the distance between them.

"Oh you silly little sha gwa, you have no idea what I'm capable of." The smile that graced the other woman's face was almost demented, making Karina squirm on the spot. She moved even closer-- and this time Kara stepped back out of reflex, suddenly nervous. "I have ended lives and saved them, broke people and help put them back together. I have done things, horrible things that would make you skin crawl, and I do not apologise. So how about you rethink your stance on this whole 'apology' thing? Okay?"

Karina stared at the woman for a long moment, letting the whole speech sink in. Her nervousness was still there, but it'd been replaced by a sharp annoyance. 'Cheap floozy?' She thought, indignant. Kara narrowed her eyes at the woman, the rest of the spacer's speech overshadowed by the too close to home random insult.

"Far from cheap." Karina mumbled, more to herself than her newest friend. Floozy maybe, technically. Whore was probably the more 'correct' word. Or Courtesan, since it'd only been a single patron? Mistress perhaps? Something along those lines. Life certainly would have been kinder if she'd been raised in the Companion temple. Everyone would respect her, and no one would talk to her like this. Like backwater scum.

"I've seen a lot of things that make my skin crawl. It doesn't change right and wrong." The red-head pursed her lips, trying to maintain some diplomacy, despite her simmering annoyance. Why was that word thrown around? She hadn't done anything even remotely sexual. "Seen a lot of lives ended too, some for no reason at all." She was rambling a bit, having a hard time coming to a conclusion that wouldn't get her shot, but that satisfied her anger.

Oh yeah about being at the wrong end of a pistol? Karina was pretty sure that's where things were headed. Best she could figure this woman was some sort of bounty hunter or merc. She wasn't Alliance, if she was she would have flashed her little badge and put Kara in detainment for insubordination or some nonsense.

"If you don't want to be the bigger person and apologize, then don't." She might be back world trash, but she wasn't exactly willing to go to blows over being jostled in the street, especially not with this woman. "But I'm still right." With that, the woman readjusted her bag on her shoulder-- making to leave.

[KAILA "MAGPIE" AMELL]

She's nervous. Magpie realized, uncertain whether that was good or bad. She did love to intimidate, it made her feel strong, but if she scared her too much the chances of a fight starting would drop to almost none. After all, who would pick a fight with someone who frightened them? Dammit. I just wanted to work off some of this gorram frustration. Was that really too much to ask? Do everything really have to be so gorram difficult?

She hesitated, contemplating stepping back. There was nothing for her here if the girl was just going to cower or run away. I might as well be nice, just this once. There's really no point in frightening her anymore.

Just as she began to move back, she saw the other woman's eyes narrow. What have we here? Is this not as futile as I thought?

"I've seen a lot of things that make my skin crawl. It doesn't change right and wrong." Her target was talking again, apparently having managed to find her voice. "Seen a lot of lives ended too, some for no reason at all." Now there was a bit of a surprise. Sure the red-head didn't appear to be one of the upper-class, but there was something soft about her, gentle in a way that no one who lived Magpie's kind of life could be. No, she had to be lying, or at least stretching the truth. There was no way this pampered little sha gwa's life could anyway compare to hers.

"If you don't want to be the bigger person and apologize, then don't." Oh goody, she wasn't done talking. "But I'm still right."

The other woman moved, looking like she was getting ready to leave. Oh no she doesn't. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She stepped closer to the girl, keeping her well within arm's reach. "We aren't bloody done here."

Anger sparked within her. "You really think you're right, huh girl?" She curled her hand into a fist. "You really think you get what I've been through?" She lashed out, punching the wall next to the girl. Pain shot through her fist and down her arm. She ignored it. "You know nothing."

[KARINA LI ITO]

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" The other woman snapped as Kara made to leave, making the younger woman (against her better judgement) freeze. The unhinged Merc, as Kara had taken to calling her in her head stepped closer, getting within striking distance. "We aren't bloody done here."

"I think we are." Karina responded coolly, her hands curling into fists at her sides. She had no visions of grandeur, no thought that she could actually win in a fight between the two of them-- but it didn't stop her from not wanting to be walked all over by some idiot off worlder with a complex.

"You really think you're right, huh girl?" The other woman asked, making Karina edge back nervously as she curled her hands into fists as well. "You really think you get what I've been through?" The woman snarled, lashing out.

Karina flinched away, solely out of reflex-- wincing as the fist hit the wall beside her. Her only consolation was that it hadn't been her face, although that obviously hadn't been the intention. Unless this psycho had ridiculous bad aim. Even so...

"You know nothing."

"I'm not a psychiatrist." Karina muttered, crab stepping sideways to attempt to get out of immediate proximity. "I can recommend a decent one though, since you seem to be in immediate need--" The red-head trailed off continuing to inch away from the crazy woman. Preferably before she pulled a gun.

"Look, I'm not looking to know your life." Karina attempted to soothe, still slinking away slowly. "Not many folks have it easy outside of the core planets." Where was an Alliance fed when you needed one? "I'm sure your life hasn't been a cakewalk. It doesn't mean you should go around beating people up."

[KAILA "MAGPIE" AMELL]

Magpie drew her hand back to her side. Her movement was steady but slow. She couldn't move her arm any faster. The sparks of pain that had been flickering across her knuckles and through the bones of her wrist since she punched the wall were blooming into full blown pangs of agony. Qing wa cao de liu mang! This was not good. Please tell me I did not just break my gorram hand while trying to intimidate some chwen who doesn't know when to shut her mouth. Needing to check, she tried to flex her hand, which was laying limp at her side. The sudden jolt of pain this action brought caused a hiss to bubble up in her throat. She snapped her mouth shut and clenched her teeth, trying to maintain her impassive façade as she did so. It was enough to stop the noise from breaking out, though she feared at least some of her pain showed on her face. Oh, just let her try to say anything about it.

"I'm not a psychiatrist." She heard the other woman mumble. "I can recommend a decent one though, since you seem to be in immediate need"

Magpie snarled. "What exactly are you trying to say?" She shifted her position, keeping her damaged arm farther away from the stranger. She would have to rely on her left hand from now on. Not ideal, but it will do. It was then that she noticed the red-head starting to back away. She was moving slowly, just inching along, but sure enough she was getting away. Maybe you should just let her run. a voice in the back of her head whispered, You've already hurt yourself; just let her go. She's scared, can't you see? Just swallow your pride and let her go.

"Look, I'm not looking to know your life." God, she didn't know when to shut up. "Not many folks have it easy outside of the core planets. I'm sure your life hasn't been a cakewalk. It doesn't mean you should go around beating people up."

"What, because you're some kind of expert on the cruelties of life?" she laughed. Guess we're not backing off after all. She looked the stranger up and down, distaste written all over her features. "You stink of the pampered life. I wouldn't expect you to understand." She rested her left hand on the grip of the gun tucked away in her jacket. "I fight because I have to."

Wait, what? She felt herself hesitate. Her mind raced, going over the words that had just come out of her mouth, seemingly of their own volition. Am I still stuck in the war?

[KARINA LI ITO]

Karina just stared. Openly and unabashedly. This woman was crazy. That was the only explanation that made sense. Normal people didn't go around punching walls for no gorram reason. Kara watched the woman gingerly move her arm, flexing her fingers slowly. A spark of pain washed over her face, so fleeting that if Karina hadn't been intently watching she probably would have missed it.

Serves her right, for being such a sha gwa. The redhead thought, absently tugging at a lock of her hair. It was starting to lose the luster that it'd had on Sihnon. There was just no way to keep it as clean or healthy. Baths weren't exactly an every day thing here, unless you were rich. The food was mostly protein in various colors and flavors, and there were no expensive spas to jaunt to every time you were feeling less than perfect.

Not that she cared. It was just hair right? The thought didn't stop her from fiddling with it, rolling the strands between her fingers and feeling the roughness of the split ends.

Uhg.

"What, because you're some kind of expert on the cruelties of life?"  The other woman barked back with a condescending laugh, making Karina scowl. The memory of her mother's bloody, infected face after her father had cut her open and kicked them out flashed across her mind. Huddling in a transport vessel as they fled into the bowels of Persephone-- hungry and cold, all the time. Watching the strong woman of her childhood slowly succumb to illness and malnutrition, dying like an animal in a small, dark room and being unable to do a damn thing about it. Living as an orphan on the streets, fighting over scraps of food, fighting over territory, fighting to be left alone when rowdy men on shore leave tried to touch her. Begging for money, walking into a brothel with the intention of working to pay the debt she owed, walking out again with tears streaming down her face because she was too weak to do it after all.

She didn't dignify the woman's question with a response.

"You stink of the pampered life. I wouldn't expect you to understand."  Karina outright scoffed at that statement.  "I fight because I have to."

"Yes, completely pampered." It was a rather sarcastic statement. "In fact my father is filthy rich, I was born in a beautiful home, with servants and fresh fruit every day." She continued, as if it was some fairy tale she was telling, and not her life. "Life was great, till he went gorram crazy, and started beating on my mom." Kara snapped. "She died, and I grew up here. Alone. All of this," A hand gestured to her hair, soft skin, and relatively expensive clothing "Is a memento of... " she froze, suddenly unwilling to divulge.

Karina took a deep breath and changed the subject, slightly embarrassed by her near lapse. "You don't have to fight everyone, some of us are just trying to get by too."

"Is your hand okay?"