Urchins are Poisonous, you know.

[Munin]

Madeline's feet were bare and dirty as she stood on the street corner. Once, they had been broken, blistered, bleeding, bruised...but no longer. They were thick, calloused things now. Yet still they had their own sense of outward beauty. She had her nails painted a light pink. Her heart was much the same way.

Her face was a mix of sadness and hope as she looked up at the people passing by. Her loose t-shirt was tied up in a few places, and her green shorts had a big rip up the side so that you could see her blue and white Seraph underwear. In her dirty hands, she had light blue unofficial chinese knock-off "Boras the Sky-Shifter" mug, and was holding it out for spare change.

A woman in dark sunglasses was coming up to her, and Madeline made sure to put on her saddest face.

"Miss, might you spare some change?"

[Kate Delacoeur]

Kate liked to wear her sunglasses so people didn't bother her. Something about the inability to see someone's eyes made people reluctant to start conversations. It was nice to have your privacy, even in public.

But the little girl was talking to her, and fuck, she was just a little kid and Kate couldn't ignore her. She stopped, hesitating because she didn't know what to do. "Actually," she said after a moment, still not removing her sunglasses. "I don't." another pause. "Are you hungry, though? I'll buy you something to eat."

There. That would solve things a little and Kate wouldn't feel so terrible for the poor little kid. She'd buy her lunch, talk to her little, figure out what was going on. Kid could use some new clothes. Kate could probably find some.

[Munin]

"I'm not..." Madeline frowned. She was hungry. But... "He said I'm not supposed to go with strangers. I'm supposed to stay here until he comes back." That wasn't actually true. She was supposed to move around the city as best she could until he found her. But this lady didn't need to know that.

[Kate Delacoeur]

"Oh." Kate wanted to frown but she made herself smile instead, and she bent down so they were closer to being eye to eye. "Maybe I can just bring you something then. For later." But who was 'he' ?

She pushed the sunglasses on top of her head. "My name's Kate. What's your name?"

[Munin]

"Madeline." She said and shrugged. "Can I have a happy meal?"

[Kate Delacoeur]

Kate nodded. "Of course. Just tell me what you want." There. That was easy! Kate had successfully done a good thing. Or, she was about to successfully do a good thing. It was all about the same in the long run.

She smiled again. "It's nice to meet you, Madeline."

[Munin]

"The chicken one. With a toy. Don't forget the toy." She nodded. Toys were useful. You could trade them to the kids on the playground for their candy.

[Kate Delacoeur]

She laughed. "I won't forget. I'm going to be right back." Kate straightened and put her sunglasses on before disappearing around the block.

She tried to think of what the best thing to do in this situation would be. Should she call the police or child protective services or something? There had to be someone she could call. Poor kid, didn't even have proper shoes or clothes. Kate was going to think of something to do.

The retired hero returned with the promised food a quick 10 minutes later. "Here you go," she said, and offered the Happy Meal to Madeline.

[Munin]

Madeline took it and opened it to do an inventory. Everything seemed to be in order. She didn't smile at Kate.

"Thanks." But her face was still sad. She sat down against the wall and began to eat.

[Kate Delacoeur]

Kate hesitated briefly and then sat next to Madeline. "You're welcome," she answered and smiled.

She let the girl eat for a bit before pestering her with any questions. "Who are you waiting here for? Is he your dad? Do you have some place safe to stay?"

[Munin]

"He's not my dad. My dad died." She said. "I think." She wrinkled her brow. The memory was all muddled.

"He's him." She shrugged.

[Kate Delacoeur]

That made Kate frown. "I'm sorry. That must be very hard for you." Christ. She was just a kid.

"Where do you sleep?" Kate was not sure she was asking questions that she wanted the answer to. She was going to get sad answers and then she wouldn't be able to sleep because she'd be thinking about poor little Madeline. "Is it safe?"

[Munin]

"It's safe and it's dry." She shrugged. "He said it's warm too, but I don't know because it's summer."

[Kate Delacoeur]

Kate nodded. That was okay, she guessed. "You must have some family, somewhere?" she prodded. This wasn't normal. Little girls should be playing dress up and having tea parties, not asking for change on the street.

Maybe Conner would know what to do. She started to pull out her phone to text him, hesitated, and put it away. Conner was busy enough as it was.

[Munin]

"No." She said. She was getting tired of all these questions. Munin would use her special memory if she didn't stop asking questions soon. She had wanted to save it for a police officer, but all these questions were annoying.