Realistic or Modern It's a cruel world...

[Kurotsuki]

(1x1 rp with HowlingWoods )

It was a cold winter day in the city where delinquents, runaways, and the homeless ran rampant. Half the city was collapsing or condemned buildings that housed many junkies, drunks, homeless folks and so on. Towards the other side of the city, some small businesses struggled to keep their doors open, and many people lived in small apartments with cheap rent and broken or faulty appliances. Kurou Tamashi was one of those people.
The 21 year old girl was an infamous criminal, known throughout the city for her substance abuse and suspected leading of gang violence. She'd killed a teacher at the local high school years back, followed by her own parents, but escaped all charges by successfully pleading insanity. Now she mostly spent her days getting drunk and mugging people in dark alleys or in the park.

On this day she was taking a walk through the park, without her gang of misfits. She didn't seem to mind the cold, wearing regular pants and a pair of beat-up sneakers, as well as a winter jacket but not much else. You could hardly tell she was a girl, as the puffy jacket hid her bust and slim figure, and her hair was cut short and messy. Overall, not super feminine at first glance. She kept her hands in her pockets, presumably from the cold, but really she was ready to whip out her switchblade if anyone tried anything. She'd lived in this place her whole life, she knew of the dangers, although she was one of the most dangerous things in the city anyway. She came across a lone person huddled beneath a tree, no doubt a homeless as no sane person would be out in this weather.

(That'd be your character.)

 

[HowlingWoods]

Alyeska - or Alan, as she would have introduced herself to anyone that asked - could have currently been described as a few steps away from death. To explain how she'd gotten in this circumstance would have required a longer story than she cared to tell, rife with secrets she didn't dare trust anyone with. If a homeless boy - as she'd have appeared to be to anyone she could've fooled with her short hair and masculine clothing - barely on the cusp of adulthood could have seemed any smaller in that moment, it was doubtful. She was curled, unconscious, at the base of a massive oak that served as the centerpiece of the small, underfunded local park. Blue hair would seem greasy and bedraggled, much like the rest of her body, covered in the dirt and grime of at least a couple months on the street. If she hadn't been wearing the loose-fitting hoodie too thin for the weather, there was little doubt that her ribs would have been visible through tight skin. If the holes in the knees of her jeans were any indication, she could've frozen to death long before now, and the first snow of the year had yet to even fall.

She hadn't enough strength to do much more than shiver, so it must've been a surprise when she began to stir lightly, as if brought to life by the presence of another person, even if she hadn't quite been made aware of such a presence yet. When lashes parted to reveal half-lidded eyes of such a striking blue she might've held the ocean within that tired gaze, she hadn't the presence of mind to even be surprised at the stranger staring at her. She blinked sleep from her eyes, barely moving but an inch with her knees pulled to her chest, arms wrapped loosely around her legs. And then her gaze centered on the stranger before her, an empty look in her eyes that belied death. A shudder went through her then, following a short gust of cold wind that she no doubt felt down to her very bones. And something in her gaze hardened, looking marginally more alive than before. It couldn't have been called a determination to live - but perhaps a desire to die in peace.

The ease in which she managed to lower her voice an octave to appear more masculine had been hard-earned through so much practice it had almost become natural, but the effort was wasted on the weak whisper she managed to pull through pale, chapped lips. "Stop gawking." It might have seemed rude if not for the fact that staring at a person on the edge of death would have been qualified as the same. She blinked, slowly, sleep attempting to pull her in by long, dreamy tendrils for what very possibly could be the last time.

 

[Kurotsuki]

They looked them over, their face settling into an expression somewhere between disgust and pity. They spoke in a disinterested and rough-sounding voice, though male or female still indistinguishable. "Damn, you look awful. Not sure I've seen anyone worse around here, and that's saying somethin', 'cause this city's just full of people like you," their eyes were barely visible through their mess of dark hair, a piercing and unnatural reddish-brown.

They thought for a moment, knowing this person was on the brink of death. They'd killed their own parents with their own two hands, so they really couldn't care less about this stranger's fate. But, no matter how black and twisted it may be, they still had a heart. Perhaps it helped that they may have had a few drinks very recently, but another DUI was the least of their concerns. Their small car was parked nearby, as a friend had driven them there from the bar, but that friend had long since left for the warmth of a coffee shop one street over.

"You wanna survive this winter, you'll need some shelter and food. Of course, I don't give a crap if you want to just sit out here and die instead," they shrugged, not expecting this person to take them up on their offer.

 

[HowlingWoods]

Irritation had spiked through her in that moment, before the stranger's words had really settled in. Why couldn't she just be left alone? But then the offer - if that's what it was - seemed to click, and she blinked again, trying to think this through with a brain that was running out of fuel. She managed to settle her face into a suspicious look, parting her lips to speak, but this time all that came was a dry cough, and she sighed, a soft sound barely audible above the passive wind.

What did she really have to lose? She was dying. She wasn't too prideful to admit that, at least in the privacy of her own mind. She wasn't naïve enough to believe that this stranger wouldn't expect payment of some sort for this kindness, if it could be called that. But, truly, if whatever payment she was asked to make turned out to be worse than death, what prevented her from killing herself then? It should've frightened her that her thoughts had grown so dark, but she couldn't bring herself to feel more than a numb resignation.

"Okay." She whispered finally, limbs shifting stiffly in an effort to stand that was predestined to fail. She was small enough, in this state of starvation, that carrying her would have been barely a trifle for even the slender stranger before her, but it was a mixture of false pride and discomfort at the idea of being carried that made her attempt to stand despite that. And, to her credit, she made a valiant effort, managing to get to her feet, supported by the tree, until she made a move to step away from the trunk that ended in a dizzy look crossing her face, the only warning before her knees buckled and she began to fall.

 

[Kurotsuki]

The stranger watched, amused, as she struggled to stand. They caught her easily when she started to fall, then picked her up with minimal effort. Their breath smelled faintly of alcohol, but they seemed sober enough as they wordlessly carried the starving person back to their car and placed them in the back seat.

The first warning sign appeared once they were inside the car. The floor of the vehicle had a few items strewn about, mainly cigarette butts, some sort of medication packaging (empty), and empty beer bottles.
"Just ignore the mess there, I need to clean out this car..." they muttered as they climbed into the driver's seat, turned the key in the ignition, and started off down the empty road. They weren't being reckless, but certainly weren't particularly careful, either. Still, they quickly arrived at one of the apartment buildings and parked before they could get in a wreck.