[color=fff79a]"My hands are fully functional,"[/color] said Ayem, omitting the 'thank you' that would have turned a chiding tone into a catty one. She liked to give people the benefit of the doubt, even if they were self-proclaimed 'experts'. Even if the had the audacity to admit that their expertise was unqualified. [color=fff79a]"I'll let you see them later, for curiousity. It's Mary that needs cleaning."[/color]

And probably a lot more than that. It was help she'd probably never get. Some spirits were like fireworks, others candles. They didn't live longer, they just-

[color=bc8dbf][i]'...and it makes me cough up less blood and...'[/i][/color]

[color=fff79a][i]-Die slower,[/i][/color] finished Ayem.

Bleak prognosis. Still, she could at least do something about the smell.

[color=fff79a]"Time to go,"[/color] she said, clapping her hands lightly and leading Mary across the street. [color=fff79a]"Grazia? Go talk to the cashbot while I help with these clothes."[/color] She tapped a few bits into a card and palmed it off to the pink-haired girl. The street was abandoned, and it wasn't exactly early anymore, so they wouldn't be bothered. [color=fff79a]"Into the whirly soap tunnel you go, Mary."[/color] She felt like she was getting a grip on the lingo. [color=fff79a]"You can take your knives, but leave your clothes. We'll get those clean some other way."[/color] Like burning.

A few minutes later, Ayem tucked away a vial of caked blood as she went through the child's pockets.

[@SIGINT][@Patches]