New Avalon

[CalamityJade]

Now he was getting irritated. "Look, Miss. I don't care WHAT you have. We have rules here, and with the kinda notes you already HAVE, you'lll have to hit your Gold Path into some high rise suit's lap to pay for it! So why don't you get out of here so I can g-"

"Is there a....problem, Mr. Finch?" The voice was rather soft...not in the way that you couldn't hear it, but in that it was almost pleasant to hear. "M..Mister Harrox!" There was a momentary pause. "Sorry, sir. I was just showing this woman out of t-" Mr Harrox cleared his throat, which shut the man up. "I could quite hear you, but that does not answer my question."

[yamikuronue]

Erika puts the coins back in her pocket -- it wouldn't do to go waving them about. "I was just coming to get a loan..."

[CalamityJade]

"Ah...of course." Mr. Harrox turned to Mr. Finch. "And you were...just getting the ledger ready for her, yes?" Mr. Finch frowned. "She's already up to the limit Mr. Harrox, and-" He's cut off. "Obviously we can make an exception. Surely you weren't about to toss out a client, were you?" The question had a sort of edge to it...it felt like running your hands over soft velvet and realizing there was a knife underneath.

[yamikuronue]

Erika hesitates. She might be desperate, but... but... This guy makes her skin crawl, like she's been pet against the grain of her fur. Like someone's walked across her grave. Her stomach flops, and she begins to wonder if she should have brought a knife from the kitchen.

Nonsense, she tells herself. The guy might be scum, but he's saving your bacon. "Thank you so much, mister, I really appreciate it."

[CalamityJade]

"That's no problem. We are here to provide a...means for those waiting for their time in the sun. I do hope that you will remember those that helped you once it happens." Mr. Harrox gave a bit of a grin. "So, what sort of loan did you need, Miss..."

[yamikuronue]

"Stark, Erika Stark. My bed's collapsed, and I get paid tomorrow, I thought I'd do another payday loan..."

[CalamityJade]

"That is...a rather bad bit of fate there." Right...everyone here was basically waiting for fate to give them a chance. The gamble was that living long enough to be Welcomed was sometimes rather difficult. Mr. Finch came back with the ledger, cracking the book open and was cut off by Mr. Harrox before he could finish. "You know something...I have somewhat of a good feeling about you. I do not usually come to the office these days, and I very rarely speak to any of the clients...yet here we are. How about I...give you a slight hand, in the chance that your fate improves. I will let you borrow now, and just this once, we'll wave the first service charge." That was...geeze. That was actually an extra four crowns that she didn't have to sink back into her loan!

[yamikuronue]

Erika's jaw drops. "That's... that's really generous! Thank you so much!" Maybe this was a sign, she decided. Maybe this was proof that she was finally going to be Welcomed....

[CalamityJade]

"Think nothing of it....just remember the name Stauf Harrox once you've made your way, Miss Stark." Mr Finch looked...uncomfortable, but went about writing the loan down and heading to the safe. "Tell me, have you been in New Avalon long?"

[yamikuronue]

"Almost a year now," she says, tucking some hair behind her ear. "I figure I'll get Welcomed any day now, right?" It was almost a good-luck ritual to say the words now, a catechism she no longer believed in, but it never hurt to sound upbeat when you wanted something from someone.

[CalamityJade]

"Obviously...though there is some merit to the thought of being Welcomed by the city is to be Welcomed by it's people. You may want to consider getting out of the house more. I find that sometimes a change in perspective on a problem is much more lucrative than being passive after all." And there was that smile again. it was almost like he was smiling at something Erika just didn't see. That somewhat offputting look that made you a little cautious. Thankfully, Mr. Finch was back with her crowns.

[yamikuronue]

Erika pockets the crowns, signing the paper he puts in front of her. "Thank you," she says again, ignoring his advice. Everyone has a surefire method to being Welcomed. All Erika needed for tonight was a new bed.

[CalamityJade]

Several days later, the fated day arrived. Payday! She'd barely managed it, but she'd finally gotten to the end of her two weeks and she could pay back her loan. The bed had been...managable, and someone had given her a bit of a deal on a metallic frame! Sure, it might be a a couple crowns more expensive, but it was a new design garenteed to last for three to five years. Which meant she'd never have to worry about it breaking till she acutally was welcomed...but first she had to cash her paycheck....her paycheck that was short about three crowns?!

[yamikuronue]

Erika frowns, looking up at her supervisor. "Hang on, you shorted me. Should be another 2 crowns, because I came in last Saturday, remember? I filled in for Jill?" It had been a shift and a half by the time she was able to go home, because Craig had called off as well, and Brian was notoriously late.

[CalamityJade]

He kinda sniffed at her. "Drawer was short for the third time this month. And since the money had to come from somewhere, anyone who's assigned to the drawer gets docked pay." Which was bullshit, because if it WAS last Saturday, then that wasn't HER drawer.