A long December, and there's reason to believe
Maybe this year will be better than the last
I can't remember the last thing that you said as you were leavin'
Now the days go by so fast
Long December
Faye Valentine had itchy feet, not literally but metaphorically. She was getting restless with the cold planet that was Pluto. She had to leave. Now. The tingling sense between her shoulder blades encouraged her. People were starting to notice her, nothing surprising in that, she used to like it. But nowadays, getting noticed was something that she didn't want to do. She slipped by shadows and huddled around her coat. People were watching, following her. She had picked them out of the hurrying crowd in a matter of seconds, they didn't dress any different then anyone in the crowd. They all wore heavy colors, dark colors, but then again everyone wore heavy dark colors, there were some scatter of hopeful people who wore bright cheery coats to lighten things up, a few days ago she would probably do the same thing. Not today though. No, it wasn't the way they dress, it was the way they acted, the way they walked, the way their eyes watched everything around them carefully. There was something menacing, something forceful about them that even the hustling crowd gave them wide berth though they probably did it unconciously. Survival instinct is a wonderful thing. It was also the odd bulges and certain heaviness on the coats in certain areas that made her think one thing. Gun. Usually she would have no problem with people carrying guns. She was carrying one too, everybody carried in Pluto, but combined with the attitude she could bet everything she had that they were pro's. She didn't have the manpower nor the will to mess with them right now. She was going to leave. Someplace warm this time. It was time she got a tan.
Faye Valentine tried to fit in, but alas, a woman like her was not meant to fit in. Even in the cold, even in the crowd of people jostling and hurrying to be out of the cold. People, both men and women glanced at her, then look back for seconds. The cold air had made her pale skin seemed luminious, almost transparent. The red lipstick she wore to cheer her up glared upon her full lips like a neon sign. Her purple hair sighed behind her, it was longer then it used to be, reaching to her waist, she was too vain too cut it now. Her emerald eyes shone and glow on the pale surface of her face. Even the lumpy thick furry long coat, didn't hide the voluptous shape of her. Faye was a knock out two years ago and she had improved with age.
Like the romani gypsy clan that she had called herself, she had moved from planet to planet ever since she had left the Bebop. There were ways to make money anywhere, for a woman like her jobs were easy to get. And bounty heads were everywhere. She never go for the small ones anymore, she go for the big ones, and most of the time she got her man. Money was not a problem, and she made sure that Bebop had enough. Jet could sighed, ranted, raved and shouted at all he wanted, but she never came home. Jet had Ed to take care of him, and him to take care of her. Ein was there too. One big happy family. Knowing that they were together was enough for her. No need for her to be there. Especially since Jet wanted to 'talk'. Everytime Jet wanted to 'talk', it was always about one person and she didn't want to know. She had said her goodbyes, she had even shed tears, that was more than she had ever given to anyone. That she had even wanted to give anyone. He had her trust and she had even cared, but he tossed that back to her face, so she'd let him go. Let him die. She had made her peace with that. With him.
She slipped into her apartment. The men hadn't followed her, which was a good thing. Either she was good, or they were just stupid, she was betting on the first. She had little to pack, she had always lived out her suitcase. Easier that way. She would have to leave some things behind, like her pretty candles, some shoes, the warm thick coats. She was going somewhere warm, somewhere where she didn't need them. She sighed a little over the candles and the shoes but was glad to get rid of the coats. The place she had stayed was small but comfortable and well taken care of but was painfully bare like no one had ever lived there. She had stayed here for six months, longer than she had ever stayed anywhere but now it was time to leave. She striked a match, it caught fire and it glared bright in the darkness, she hadn't bother to flicked on the lights, the smell of sulfur and burning wood was exchanged by the smell of a burning ciggarete. Smoke danced its elusive seductive dance up to the ceiling. The red glare of the end of the ciggarete was oddly comforting in the dark. She had stopped smoking, but now and then she had a penchant for one. Like now. She blew out smoke towards the ceiling, watched it play around the shafts of light from the window. She waited a few seconds until the cigarette glow died in her hands then she stood up from the edge of the bed and picked up her suitcase. She left the cigarette butt on the ashtray and walked towards the door without even a backward glance. She had a thing about that, "when you leave, don't even think about looking back, if you do, you'll never leave." That was what she was told so long ago and she had took it to heart. She closed the door with a soft click, even that little sound was made louder in the empty room.
Click.