[b]THE SIDEWALK[/b]

"Anything helps. Anything at all."

The clink of coins in her cup made her heart jump up a few gears in speed as she looked down at it all. $5.75 in loose change and $3 in single bills. $2.50 more than just a second ago. She could feel her mouth pulling wider at the corners of her mouth. More than enough for a couple of hot meals if she played it right. She reached out, fingerless gloves tracing a long, scraggly strand of wool back into her lap, and shook the hand of the man who had just deposited the most recent donation. She shook enthusiastically and vigorously, chirping at him cheerily. "Thank you, thank you so so much, mister!"

She continued shaking until he pulled away and turned his gaze down the street, "Yeah. Yeah, no problem. I guess if I see you aga- woah." Abigail's brow furrowed in confusion as he looked back down at her and shook his head. She almost had to hold her breath when the man knelt down to her level. His jaw was chiseled and his skin was smooth. After a short silence, he asked her in a concerned tone. "Miss, are you okay? Do you need any help?"

[i]'It happened again. Thats the third time now.'[/i] She mused, trying her hardest to suppress the grinding of her teeth. She looked him up and down as he did the same to her. If she didn't do something, he'd be here all day to ask the same question over and over again. As much as she needed the money, and she really did need the money, this man was going to be sitting next to her very soon if he didn't go about his business. Her eyes darted as she searched for a solution. "W-well, who in this crazy world doesn't, right? Thank you very much for your donation, but didn't you say you had to catch a bus? I'd hate to keep you!"

The man blinked dumbly for a moment, but his eyes stayed fixed on her. That was good. "Oh yeah! Thanks for reminding me, you stay well now!" He rushed off toward a slowly braking bus and waved his arm, yelling and hooting to grab the drivers attention. Abigail smiled and giggled slightly, he seemed like a rather nice man. A voice from beside her broke her out of her trance. "Do you need some help, dear?" An older woman, in a suit jacket and long skirt. Abigail couldn't help but smile up at her, hearing the coins jingle as she shook her cup.

"Anything helps. Anything at all."
[hr]
[b]THE PARKING GARAGE[/b]

Star Ruby descended to the asphalt with a grunt, thick leather of her boots scraping slightly as she made a speedy landing. She threw her dark hair back, shaking it out as it lifted into the air and [i]ignited[/i], becoming a pulsing haze of red energy, like a constant sprite of red lightning. The haze engulfed her face and neck, stopping at her white neckerchief and leaving only a pair of white eyes and the silhouette of her head to indicate a human behind the energy. With sure steps, Star walked forward and came to the edge of the building she was standing on, placing a boot on the safety barrier. This had to be the place, after seeing the droves of motorcycling miscreants and suspicious black SUVs file in from below.

Her red and white suit stretched over her torso as she fell over the edge slowly, subconscious flight slowing her descent to a slow hover as she attempted to drift further down and see what kind of deal was supposedly going down. The information she received had been word of mouth, straight off the streets, so the legitimacy was still in question. She dropped low, dimming the light from her head to near nothing as she almost slithered down a pillar, staying out of sight as best she could.

A peek into the lower levels of the garage from the other side of the barrier gave her shock enough to fall right out of the sky. Now wouldn't that be the darnedest thing? A falling ball of red hitting some poor sap's SUV on the way around. Her shock came from the sheer volume of people present for the current deal going down. So many tough-looking lackeys that fit the criminal profile, and at their centre, an older man speaking to a taller, skinny man. A man adorned with quite a few pieces of finger-candy, she noted. Not quite fitting the profile of a pimp or a successful rapper, but who was she to judge?

Regardless, there were way too many people around for her to just jump in. She needed to be smart about this. Listen in for a little while and THEN jump in head-first, seemed to be the best plan at the moment.