Bowerstone Industrial was a dark and gloomy place; the thick, black smoke from the factories poured into the air, and not even the wind coming in from the sea seemed to be capable of clearing it. Everything, from the houses to the people, were covered in a layer of soot, and the water that ran sluggishly through the canal was murky, and covered in an oily film.
In the early morning fog that mingled with the smoke, giving it an unhealthy grey tinge and making it difficult to see, tired-looking children and exhausted adults, many dressed in patched and filthy overalls with the logos of the factories they worked at stamped on the front, were stumbling out of their houses, or prying themselves off the ground where they'd slept for the night. One young woman - for, despite the baggy, patched, and dirty clothes that hung from a frame too skinny to be healthy, it was indeed a woman - sprinted through the early morning fog, expertly dodging around the folk who were doing spot-on impersonations of Hollowmen as they stumbled across bridges and towards factories. In her right hand, she clutched a pistol, the tarnished but well-maintained metal glinting in the dim light of still-glowing streetlamps. In her left, she clutched a fat, fancy coinpurse that jingled merrily with every step she took.
Behind her were two men in clothing far too fancy and clean to belong to anyone from Industrial. They were shouting insults that echoed in the quiet, as they struggled to keep her in their sights. One of them was waving a shiny pistol in the air, and occasionally, an almighty *crack* split the silence as he fired a round uselessly into the air. Though the sound made the folk around them flinch in terror and check themselves to ensure they'd not been the ones shot, it only made the woman laugh out loud.
"I 'ear Reaver 'eld another of 'is fancy parties up in 'is manor last night!" She called back to the pair as she ducked into an alley that ran between two factories. "Knowin' Reaver, it was one 'ell of a party, am I right?" She didn't miss a beat as she came face-to-face with a gate at the end; she was up and over in mere seconds, dropping to the ground on the other side with barely a grunt.
"Must be nice, havin' all that money to waste on rubbish like that." She bounced back a couple of steps, a grin on her face, as the pair barrelled up to the gate and, clearing expecting it to swing open, crashed into it. The pistol one of them had been holding went flying out of his hand at the impact, landing not too far from her boots.
"Erena, you thieving little bitch!" One of them snarled, arms reaching through the bars of the gate to grab at her, though she was nowhere near close enough for his fingers to even brush her. Baring her teeth in a somewhat savage grin, Erena deposited her own pistol into one of the pockets on her coat, and bent down, scooping up the dropped pistol.
"An' 'ere I was, thinkin' I was the coarse one, since i grew up 'ere in Industrial an' all. Must be 'ope fer me yet, though, if ya fancy-folk are goin' round, speakin' like that." She said as she carefully examined the pistol, not even bothering to look at the two trapped on the far side of the gate. They snarled insults at her, rattling the bars, as if hoping the thick chain and lock would suddenly give way, but she ignored them, snapping the safety on the pistol into place and sliding the shiny weapon into her pocket to join her own.
"You little-!" The owner of the pistol yelled, as she turned her eyes to them once again. He went red in the face as he struggled to decide what to call her. "Give that back!" Evidently unable to settle on something that would truly upset her, he left the insult hanging.
"Nah, think I'll keep it. Ya never know when a fancy piece like that's gonna come in 'andy. 'Course, it's more fer show than anythin', so the best it'll do is fetch me a few shiny coins fer my pocket." With a mocking bow, Erena turned on her heel and starting walking away, humming cheerfully and tossing the fat coinpurse into the air repeatedly. "Ya have a fine mornin', now."
She heard the pair start shouting insults again as she trotted up the metal stairs on the outside of a nearby building, and swung herself into a quiet warehouse through the door at the top. It was deserted, save for a couple of birds in the rafters, and some mice scuttling about in the shadows.
Pausing on the far side of the door as it clicked shut behind her, muffling the shouts, Erena slid the coinpurse into another pocket on her coat, and bit her lip, gnawing gently as she considered.
"Bloody 'ell, they're annoyin'." She finally grumbled to herself, pushing away from the door and wandering down the walkway she was on. The old, dusty wooden boards creaked beneath her feet as she made her slow way along it, towards the ramp that would lead her to the ground floor and the front doors. "Ya'd think they'd lighten up about this kinda stuff, what, with it happenin' regularly."
Oh, how she hated rich folk.