For as long as she could remember, Charlotte’s days had always ended with her wandering around Dillinger Market, seeing if any of the remaining vendors were selling anything of use to her. It was a way for her to mentally cool down after a day of bartering and dealing with idiots that came to her booth without getting erratically angry at them. Keeping calm was difficult. But a couple of days prior, she’d gotten jumped by three people while en route to Fervention; usually this wouldn’t deter her, since it wasn’t the first time it’d happened, but it definitely shook her up because she wasn’t able to fight back and she felt useless; she was still sporting bruises on her face and neck. So, instead of remaining at the market, the moment Charlotte closed shop, she began walking towards Fervention, carrying her items with her and hoping that no one would get to her again.
Walking was tiring, and although she didn’t want to stop because she wanted to get to the abandoned warehouse she kept returning to, she needed to or else she was going to drop. She’d gotten a good deal during the day; water, food and a jacket for a simple fix-up. Charlotte found a boulder and rested against it, taking a sip of water. She felt a presence and tensed, “Look, I don’t have anything apart from this water,” she lied easily, her voice not wavering, “and for the first time in my life, I don’t want trouble so, leave me alone and we’ll both be on our merry way.”