08-07-2013, 02:53 PM
Aeva learned quickly, thank the Gods. She had too few resources to look as though she belonged on the better streets of the teaming mass of socialites and nuveaux riche, but her decent wool coat was both warm, and presentable. She might get away with being just above a menial worker about her business, but she was aware that the same was not going to be true when she reached her destination.
Within her first fifteen minutes of entering the city under the streets of Moscow, she saw that those who looked like they may have two coins to rub together (or even just two halves of the same coin), were immediately set upon by beggars, prostitutes and looked at suspiciously by just about everyone else. Any who looked as lost as she felt seemed at double the risk, even if they only carried a small bag, like herself, but appeared easy prey.
Abandoning the idea of finding a corner in which to don a less presentable aspect, Aeva found herself ducking out of the Underground City and finding a deserted alleyway in which she could turn her coat inside-out. During her sojourn on the ship, she had been told that it didn't do to appear too wealthy in certain places in Moscow; the underground hadn't been mentioned specifically, but if there was anywhere above where that applied, it would be doubly true beneath. She had taken the lining out of the coat, and doubled the seams with deliberate clumsiness.
It still looked all right on the outside, but now the inside of the coat looked like a threadbare version of the outer. She used a thin, wide scarf to cover her too-clean hair and kept up a pace and stride which made it look as though she knew where she was going... like a resident of the Underground City, rather than a newbie. Where she would actually go, Aeva still did not know, but she kept going, hoping that nobody would notice her. A faint shiver, a slight feeling of a cold breeze rippling just beneath her skin gave her a measure of confidence. That feeling usually meant that she went unnoticed.
It was rather difficult thing, to explore discretely. But she was exhausted and needed sleep.
Partly, she wanted to stay near the surface, so she would have a quick exit should she need one, but the lower she went, it seemed quieter; fewer people. There was an old underground rail tunnel, bereft of tracks or overhead lines and a warning sign that was rusty and old warning of collapse ahead. Aeva glanced behind herself, hearing faint noises, but seeing nothing. There was indeed a collapse, but it appeared as though anything useful had been stripped away, leaving nothing but rusty, twisted metal, concrete blocks and paving. Small and nimble, Aeva could just about get through the wreckage.
Perhaps she had made a mistake coming here. Of course, there was nowhere else to go, and she couldn't have stayed in England, tracked by the CCD, questioned about Taren... *did* she know something? Could she give something away when answering questions that she didn't even realise she was aware of? She needed a space, left in peace, to think.
And fortunately, although the tunnel bore evidence of more collapses further on than the old sign, there was nothing here to fall on top of her. A sheet of corrugated iron was awkwardly held up by planks and breeze blocks, creating a sheltered little hole, and even if the metal did collapse further - it was too thin to be very heavy. As much as she needed to think, Aeva needed to sleep, and vainly pulling the coat closer against a chill that was inside more than out, she slept.
Within her first fifteen minutes of entering the city under the streets of Moscow, she saw that those who looked like they may have two coins to rub together (or even just two halves of the same coin), were immediately set upon by beggars, prostitutes and looked at suspiciously by just about everyone else. Any who looked as lost as she felt seemed at double the risk, even if they only carried a small bag, like herself, but appeared easy prey.
Abandoning the idea of finding a corner in which to don a less presentable aspect, Aeva found herself ducking out of the Underground City and finding a deserted alleyway in which she could turn her coat inside-out. During her sojourn on the ship, she had been told that it didn't do to appear too wealthy in certain places in Moscow; the underground hadn't been mentioned specifically, but if there was anywhere above where that applied, it would be doubly true beneath. She had taken the lining out of the coat, and doubled the seams with deliberate clumsiness.
It still looked all right on the outside, but now the inside of the coat looked like a threadbare version of the outer. She used a thin, wide scarf to cover her too-clean hair and kept up a pace and stride which made it look as though she knew where she was going... like a resident of the Underground City, rather than a newbie. Where she would actually go, Aeva still did not know, but she kept going, hoping that nobody would notice her. A faint shiver, a slight feeling of a cold breeze rippling just beneath her skin gave her a measure of confidence. That feeling usually meant that she went unnoticed.
It was rather difficult thing, to explore discretely. But she was exhausted and needed sleep.
Partly, she wanted to stay near the surface, so she would have a quick exit should she need one, but the lower she went, it seemed quieter; fewer people. There was an old underground rail tunnel, bereft of tracks or overhead lines and a warning sign that was rusty and old warning of collapse ahead. Aeva glanced behind herself, hearing faint noises, but seeing nothing. There was indeed a collapse, but it appeared as though anything useful had been stripped away, leaving nothing but rusty, twisted metal, concrete blocks and paving. Small and nimble, Aeva could just about get through the wreckage.
Perhaps she had made a mistake coming here. Of course, there was nowhere else to go, and she couldn't have stayed in England, tracked by the CCD, questioned about Taren... *did* she know something? Could she give something away when answering questions that she didn't even realise she was aware of? She needed a space, left in peace, to think.
And fortunately, although the tunnel bore evidence of more collapses further on than the old sign, there was nothing here to fall on top of her. A sheet of corrugated iron was awkwardly held up by planks and breeze blocks, creating a sheltered little hole, and even if the metal did collapse further - it was too thin to be very heavy. As much as she needed to think, Aeva needed to sleep, and vainly pulling the coat closer against a chill that was inside more than out, she slept.