<strong>Ruth</strong><br/><br/>"You don't have to worry. If anyone's erased about this it's whatever bitch had the bat. I don't need Cringe's head over some bruises and bones." Just some assurances. The last part stays internal; Esther'd be happy to give those assurances, but her price is too high. Dammit.<br/><br/>Still, no reason to get bitter about that. Business transactions don't always go your way. That doesn't mean it stops being helpful to have the opposition a little soft on you. That's why Ruth takes the time to pause in the doorway, give her hostess a coy look on her way out the door, says, "I already left a down payment with Dutchess on the way in - ask her if you want. So I can't go dropping deposits all over the place, right? Feel free to drop by yourself when you wanna pick up the rest. Probably due for a checkup as it is."<br/><br/>With Ruth's luck lately that pickup visit would come at the most unfortunate time possible, but she can't worry about that now. Have to keep things light, hopeful, friendly. Best she can hope for, for now.<br/><br/>So okay, it's, what, early evening by now? Shit, probably be dark by the time she got to Cringe's part of the hold anyway at this rate. ... Maybe that's not so bad, though. Her crew's gotta be high most of the day, so they're coming down by nightfall, right? Maybe not crashed outright, but tensions gotta be running a little lower, at least. If you're an optimist anyway. Okay. Okay, maybe this won't be a disaster after all. Just gotta take things slow, careful.<br/><br/>But that's later though. For now it's a brisk walk back to the infirmary. To be honest she was sorta expecting to find Righteous waiting outside for her to be kicked out, but "go away" must've meant "more than five feet away" 'cause she's nowhere to be seen outside the door. Maybe out in the compound somewhere, sure, but Ruth's not exactly looking for her. Doubtful anyone would ask what she had to say to the boss lady anyway. They're just the help; it's none of their fucking business what the doc and the boss have to talk about. If they were gonna get involved they'd have been invited to join in. So maybe Dutchess and her rifle boy will talk some more shit, so what; she's leaving, not coming. Means she doesn't have to pay them attention this time. Just keep on walking, put her shit together upstairs, figure out how to handle this.<br/><br/>First things first: fashion. She's dealt with Cringe a few times - who hasn't had to that lives here? - so she knows the way the woman works, the way she acts. Maybe doesn't have such a good grip on<em>why</em>she's that way, but Ruth's fair confident she knows the kind of thing to expect. Maybe play into that a little, put her more at ease instead of on the defensive right away. Nothing in the infirmary that'd hold up against Cringe's decadent sensibilities but there are always options for presentation. Yeah...yeah, the more she thinks about it the more that seems like the way to go. Cut a couple corners, so to speak. It could help. Couldn't hurt, anyway; if she's gonna get hurt it'll happen no matter how she looks so no reason to worry about backfiring. Shit happens where it happens, end of story.<br/><br/>The gun's the real problem. Be stupid<em>not</em>to take it with her, but carrying a shotgun around makes it sorta hard to seem friendly and reasonable. She'll ask John about it when she gets to the infirmary, see if he's got any ideas on how to tone down the threat of just having a shotgun visible. No idea if he'd have anything useful to say on the subject, but hey, can't hurt to ask.