Ugh! Much Suck.

[no_leaf]

It's well past normal shopping hours, and even if the Wal-Mart is a 24/7 store, the crowds at 2am are pretty much non-existent. That means the parking lot and area in general are also pretty scarcely inhabited. At the far end of that dark slab of asphalt, there is a donation container that reads 'clothes and shoes' and the sound of a the flap thumping can be heard.

It's dark, the moon waning, but that just means that some people are more active, and so it is here. Someone moving quietly, patrolling, but then the flap thumping...no-one around to put clothes in...something's inside Thandi moves to the container and waits just around the corner from the front, watching to see who emerges.

There's a bit more thumping around and then the flap is pulled in and a pair of arms start snaking their way back out. A pair of jeans, a couple of shirts, and a beat up but salvageable canvas jacket get tossed out ahead of the arms. Then, a moment later and with a grunt of effort, a body starts coming out one leg at a time.

An alto voice says, "Ya need any help gettin' outta there? You gotta pack t'take stuff in?" Thandi's watching. Hopefully the figure coming out is, you know, clothed, since it's still really cold in Detroit.

There's a pause as a voice breaks the near silence, and the figure sits straddled half in and half out of the donation container. After a moment of hesitation the girl continues her task, hopping out and hovering close to the metal tin as she tries to quickly take in who's around her. It's a bit of deer in headlights as she stands there and looks toward the other.

Thandi comes around the corner. She's tall, has a long brown trenchcoat (a la firefly), dark skin and red hair. Also, she has an army duffel on her back. "I ain't one t'judge. I know i've had t'snatch clothes an' food b'fore. So...you doin' all right? You need any help?"

Mack has to look /up/ to this woman, and the weight difference between the two is nothing to squawk at. "Y-yeah." She clears her throat then, mustering up a bit of her nerve. "Just, ruined a couple shirts so needed, ya know, something. I'm good though." She steps forward to pick up the pieces of clothing she'd chucked out before hand.

Thandi nods, her eyes...are they really yellow? Apparently so, or she has weird contacts. "Awright. Jus' be careful. There's gang-type 'round that'll try t'do bad stuff t'ya iff'n they catch ya an' you look like easy pickins. Ya gotta place t'stay?"

"Heh. Yeah. Well, I'm not easy pickings." A bit of a chip arrives on her shoulder as Mack takes the items and stuffs them into a plastic bag she's procured out of her coat pocket. And that coat has definitely seen better days, come to think of it. The girl gets caught staring at the other's eyes then, brows narrowing a bit. "You just snoop around at night warning people off the streets or something?"

Thandi shakes her head. "Hell no. I mug muggers an' druggies. Maybe try t'get a gang war goin' on 'tween druggies an' slavers. Fun stuff, y'know?" She brightens at that, actually.

"You know anything about the Outlaws?" she asks then, a bit of trepidation entering her posture.

Thandi shakes her head. "Sounds like one o' t'gangs 'round here, but I ain't sure. Ain't run in'ta them, yet. Why? You end up killin' a couple of them?"

"Me?" she hehs, "You think I got the brass to go kiling gang members?" Mack shakes her head, "Just seen 'em around. Heard 'em give their name."

Thandi hmmmms. "So is that /your/ blood on your clothes then? Not theirs? If so, then you gotta have someone look at it."

Mack looks down, "Oil. My truck's a piece of shit."

Thandi shakes her head. "Look. I know blood. Seen it on others. Seen it on me...wait...fuckers /shot/ you!" She steps back once, eyes narrowing. "Don't fuckin' tell me you're all right...."

Mack looks down and starts sputtering at the questions now. "What? No. I just, I grabbed this jacket off of someone a long time ago. That's all." She takes a step back now too, looking a lot like she's wanting to get the heck out of dodge.

Thandi looks at the other woman. "Yeah. No. Yer lyin'. Mebby fer a good reason, but you just got shot recently, an' yer either fakin' bein' all right an' ya need medical help....or you got better way the fuck too quickly. Which is it?"

"It's not my jacket! Alright? I got into a scrap. I lost my jacket. I took one of /their/ jackets after they got dropped. That's it." Mack takes another step back now, "Listen, I dunno why it's so important to you, but let's just drop it, eh? "  With that final request, the wary girl actually turns full around and takes off in a hurried jog out of the area.

Left behind to watch, Thandi follows her departure first with her eyes, and then, by trailing her back to wherever it is the little clothing thief returns.