<div align="center"><strong>-=an unknown element - at the Eavesdown Docks on Persephone - shopping for a free ride=-</strong></div><br/>She’d once been referred to as ‘milk-fed’, her curves ample and her body soft from little exposure to hard work. Now, her body ached from hunger and her lips were cracked from dehydration. Running was hard work; she finally knew what it was to need.<br/><br/>Her blue eyes darted over the traffic crossing overhead, lift offs not her priority. She needed the next appropriate opportunity off Persephone, uninterested in the ones that were already gone. Avoiding the constabulary when she could, she made herself as uninteresting as possible. Her awkwardly sized work jumpsuit advertised that she performed menial grunt work for a long defunct terraforming unit. The flopping hard-soled boots that scraped up the dry earth under her were incidentally packed with the last of her ruined clothing, stuffed to fit upon her dainty feet. One oversized hat later and even her unkempt henna’d hair didn’t make a lick of difference out here on the docks. She was just as dirty and sweaty and tired as anyone else surviving on the movement of goods to or from the planet.<br/><br/>Ducking behind a stack of crates, she pretended to check the labels, glancing furtively to the uniforms of authority as they passed. Sighing and holding her stomach, she wanted to retch from nerves but there was nothing left to give up. Lifting her eyes back up to the white-blue sky… glory be, there was a lost cup of liquid on top of the crates! Half full, she gazed up at it, thirst spearing her thoughts, her hands already lifting to reach it…<br/><br/>Before a half-gloved hand removed it from her view, the slurp and sigh of its owner piercing her heart. Just for good measure, her stomach answered with a gurgle and she slipped away, constantly moving. Her eyes filled with self-indulgent tears, moisture she could not afford to lose. She stopped herself with a hard blink, her mouth tasting like dirt as she ground her teeth together. Her eyes on the ground, she nearly collided with an old man in a stained brown coat, counting money in his gnarled hands like he’d never seen so much before. She stepped aside, his lumbering gait hampered by ill-fitting shoes, the soles worn through on both. Her heart constricted once more, debating the deal she was about to make. She didn’t have many other choices.<br/><br/>Leaning over to remove her giant boots, she held them out before him, shaking them slightly by their soft tops. “Grampa, you need some better tires on them ole souls, ya catch me? Trade me a single bill? Dong-ma? I jes’ wanna eat. Good deal?”<br/><br/>***<br/><br/>“Well, ai ya, choosing a smart ole crotchety guh jun duh hwoon dahn; demanded my hat, too!” she hissed at herself, only her socks keeping her bare feet from touching the hot ground. Next in line at the vendor’s cart, she handed over the last money she had to her name and grabbed the grilled meat-on-a-stick without asking what specie it had been. OH! Real protein… and hot… and tasty… and… semi-fresh! She sucked the skewer clean, licking it over and over before glancing around at the people now staring. Tossing the stick, her cheeks flared pink. She darted nearer to the digital column at the end of the actual docking stations. Half hiding behind it from scrutiny, she distractedly read over the announced manifests, uncaring of their destinations. Any further jumps away from her origin made for a better chance at survival.<br/><br/>Brushing back the hanging waves of messy hair with her dirty hands, loose now that she’d lost her hat, she glanced around, glad everyone on the world had something to do. She would have nibbled at her fingernails in worry had they not been filthy with her shower-less travels. How many days ago did she find herself caught in too short a rainfall? And was that really her last washing, not to mention the wear of her clothing? She looked at her wiggling toes, overwhelmed by the wool socks encompassing her feet. Heh, at least she wouldn’t make much noise on the metal floors of whatever cargo bay she would next use as her ‘all aboard’.<br/>