Public Hard Times

[Charlotte Savage]

Denon never slept, but tonight it felt like the city was practically laughing at her.

The neon signs of various shops flickered overhead in sickly blues and reds, their glow cutting through the curtain of rain that poured down the alleyway. Charlotte dragged a damp sleeve across her face and gave a bitter little laugh. Of course. Of course this was how the day ended.

First, the bounty slipped through her fingers. He was a mark that should've been easy, only to vanish into the crowd like smoke. Then her last few credits disappeared in the chaos that followed. Gone with the mark, or maybe to the pickpocket who had brushed just a little too close for comfort. She hadn't noticed until she tried to pay for a tram and came up with lint and a spare stick of chewing gum.

She sighed, moved to pop the gum in her mouth, only for the cantina door to bang into her shoulder as a gruff Wookiee stormed out. The stick slipped from her fingers and landed squarely in a muddy puddle.

"Perfect," she muttered, voice flat as the rain.

Groaning, she slouched against a duracrete wall with her bag at her side, rain dripping from her hair and face. Utterly soaked to the bone, mascara streaked down her cheeks like war paint gone wrong. She tilted her head back, eyes half-closed, staring up at the weeping sky.

Her laugh was thin, liltingly soft like summer rain against the roaring downpour. Anyone stumbling through the night could find her there... a bounty hunter without a bounty, broke, drenched, and looking for… well, anything better than this.

 

[Tigris Aphra]

Wrong profile!

 

[Tamar Krev]

She would have thought getting a job on Denon would be easier. Only a few days in, she told herself not be get discouraged. No one knew who she was, had no reputation or references. So, as she often did, Tamar resorted to more nefarious means to survive.

It was easy to hit marks that night. Night was an ally, the glowing neon lights making cozy shadows. The rain was even more a blessing, a constant pelting on a targets body that hid the unseen touch. Not that she needed either of those. Tamar was an excellent pickpocket.

It wasn't her favorite way to survive, but one did what they had to do. She had found someone that was probably not the easiest mark, but certainly the most intriguing. The attractive, tall, pink-streaked platinum blonde moved with a graceful confidence, not the slouch of a slicer or stim-head. With a look that was as electric as the bright colored sings of the bars and diners that lined the street, Tamar couldn't resist.

The hit was simple, a distracting noise, a bump. It wasn't her cleanest, but it worked. In the end, it wasn't a lot of credits. But the curious woman had captured the otherwise bored attention, and Tamar trailed her. She watched the cantina door hit the woman, the stick of gum dropping to the filthy sidewalk. The figure leaned against a wall, dripping wet, looking dejected. Even the unamused laugh of frustration wasn't overlooked.

Tamar felt almost bad for her.

She walked up to the woman, pulling the long jacket's hood back. Tamar had to look up at the woman, who's once stunning makeup now streaked her cheeks.

"You look like you could use a drink...I'll buy?" She offered. Technically, it would be the woman's credits buying the drinks.