Giving her mother heart attacks wasn't always on Ashe's agenda- most days it seemed like it was on accident. Not that heart attacks would do much for the old and wizened looking Reploid, even if they could effect her like it could effect humans.
Ashe was born twenty years ago inside a shady-looking laboratory and given to her mother as cameras flashed and blinded too many in the proximity. But the hybrid girl did not look twenty years old, and revealing her age gave her many stares from folks who did not know her true nature. Ashe appeared to be only twelve years old, mentally she would range from actually acting her accepted age to acting how she appeared- it depended on what mood she was in and whether she felt like it or not.
Running away was today's test of boundary.
Ashe's sneakers slapped the pavement as she ran away from the areas owned by the local black market. The feeling was so invigorating that Ashe nearly laughed at how easy it all was.
Momma's always joking about putting a leash on me, Ashe thought to herself as she jumped over a small puddle brought on by an old drain pipe, little does Momma know that this pup's gotta be set loose some time!
Ashe laughed at herself and kept running until she came to a spot that she wasn't quite familiar with, and slowed down to a nice, leisurely walking pace to admire the new scenery. There wasn't much to look at unfortunately, all the buildings were the same dead gray color and all the signs consisted of black lettering that wasn't at all pleasing to the eye. The little shops and rugs that gave indication of individual vendor locations at the black market looked better than this little district.
Dull, boring. Boring, dull... Ashe thought dimly, Are any of these stores even open?
As if to answer her silent call, the smell of some kind of freshly baked food filled the air and almost immediately made Ashe's stomach growl. Following the scent with the command of her angry stomach- Ashe wandered through the district until she came to a small bakery. One yank on the door and Ashe found that the smell was only to tease her in her lonely state.
"Shoot..." Ashe said to herself before she started to peer through the window. It proved to be a rather faulty move as it only made her more hungry. "Why didn't I eat before I left?"
Ashe started to walk away from the shop, but was stopped when the door to the bakery opened and the owner looked outside for her.
"Hey, kid!" the owner shouted, "We're open for business! It's a 'push' door, not a 'pull' door."
Oops...
Feeling rather stupid and embarrassed, Ashe walked back to the store. Noticing the girl's embarrassment, the store owner felt a bit of compassion and understanding. But there where some questions that needed to be answered before the owner felt compelled to do anything generous...
"What's your name kid?" the shop owner asked as the child idled by the display stand near the window.
"Momma calls me a pain in the ass," the kid said simply enough, "Some of the people I call friends call me the beta bitch princess- but I suppose you could call me Ashe if you want, it's what is written on my birth certificate."
The shop owner took a moment to look at Ashe, but the young child did not show signs of joking and seemed quite serious.
"Where did you come from, er... Ashe?" the shop keeper asked as he started to unlock the cabinet with donuts inside.
"The corner of Teondinn and Occamp."
"Isn't that where the black market is? What would a young child like you be doing in a place like that?"
"I was raised there- is that a problem?"
"No, not at all. Unlike few, I hold no prejudice against black markets of any kind. It takes real skill to perfectly copy something, ya know? Especially when there are humans doing all that work. It makes me kind of jealous, really."
Ashe nodded her head slowly to show she understood. She had seen the process that some of the vendors go through to make their products look like the real thing. Even she was amazed at the detail that went into the whole 'art theft,' 'plagiarized,' and 'recast' thing. Ashe had also noticed that certain vendors chose to specialize in what they sold- Reploids were more likely to reproduce sculptures, pottery, and of the like, while humans were more likely to reproduce paintings or sewed items like purses and clothes. It was one of her favorite parts about growing up in the black market: it made her appreciate art in a whole.
"It's getting rather late," the shop owner then said as he walked over to her with a brown paper bag in hand, "You should get going to where ever you're going. Take these for the road, you look like you haven't eaten anything for awhile and it may help you keep your metabolism up."
Ashe looked at the brown paper bag the owner offered to her and carefully took it. She looked inside for a small peek and started to smile a tiny bit.
"Momma hates donuts." Ashe said softly, but rather mischievously. "They fry her circuits."
The shop owner gave Ashe a confused and stunned look. Ashe looked up at him and smile happily.
"Thank you for the donuts, I hope to see you again soon!" she then said with a wave as she left the store. The shop owner said nothing and only stared.
. . .
Ashe made it back to the black market as the sun cast its red glow over the city streets. Her mother was waiting for her in full rage.
"Before you say anything," Ashe quickly said, presenting her mother with the brown paper bag, "I love you very much, I came back before dark, and I got a doughnut for free. Here ya go!"
With that, Ashe ran away before her mother could even have a minute to think.
