11358/Even Heroes Need A Hand Sometimes

From Heroes Assemble MUSH
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Even Heroes Need A Hand Sometimes
Date of Scene: 27 May 2022
Location: Hope House
Synopsis: Hannah and Nico find some summer clothes! Also food and shelter.
Cast of Characters: Hannah Montalcini, Nico Minoru




Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini had planned to arrive here sooner, but after that thing with the vanful of Friends of Humanity bigots, she thought she'd lie low for a while. But now she's here! At an actual homeless shelter! Where she might get food and clothes and maybe even a bed!
She suddenly realises she has no idea how this works.
Oh, but there's someone at the desk here. Maybe she can at least deal with this money. She approaches the desk; the man there looks up from the book he was reading and asks, "Can I help you?"
Hannah hesitates, then hands him a wad of bills. "Someone outside told me to give this to you! For the shelter, i mean." She isn't a good liar.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico hadn't really planned to wind up at Hope House, but she's on one of her walkabouts, wandering the city, lost in thought and a bit of gloom and generally trying to keep a low profile. Indeed, the only reason she's headed there is because her meandering path was headed towards a sudden flurry of sirens and the echoing of police radios down the street, and Nico was not in the mood to get involved in whatever _that_ was.

And so Nico finds herself waiting to sign in behind... man, that girl is /short/! And her hair's shorter! Still, Nico's nothing if not a supporter of folks finding their own style and... puffy jacket wins some points. The masked logo on the back earns a soft little reflexive snort... it's not like Nico hasn't been down on her luck and had to take whatever she could get before.

She sweeps up to the counter as the attendant finishes taking the donation to scribble her name into the sign-in book and toss Hannah a grin... and it's pretty clear the goth's in some sort of state right now. Her eyes are hooded, dark bags under them, even though the rest of her looks in sorts... she just looks /utterly/ exhausted.

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
The Hope House employee-or-volunteer takes the money (a little over $500), looking puzzled. "What did this someone look like?" As she stammers a non-answer, he looks her over and adds, "It looks like you could use some help yourself. Do you need... clothes? Or food?" Hannah nods in vigorous agreement and adds, "A shower would be nice too." She's still wearing that tattered, bloody and smelly FoH jacket, and hasn't had the opportunity to wash since being tortured and then getting bigot blood on her.
Before the man can ask more about the mystery donator (who he's beginning to doubt existed, but doesn't understand why the girl would lie about it), Hannah directs his attention to the other girl who just walked in. "No time for more questions. You must help her too!" Smooth cover-up there.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico tosses a brief wink Hannah's way before the attendant's looking at her, she's got your back, fellow transient! "Hey, I need... uhh... like... a bed? And yeah, a shower too would be nice." She rolls her eyes and grins, "I mean, y'know, usual shelter stuff? C'mon guy, are you new or something?" She drawls it out like this is old hat for her as she hums out. Her own attire's in nowhere near as poor shape as Hannah's, even if the dark dress that obscures her from the waist down with voluminous fabric is clearly some ancient thrift store find. But the heavy-soled boots that sometimes peek out are clearly the pride and joy of the goth gal.

She shakes her head quickly and waves her hand, "Oh, and no need to keep an eye on us! I've been here before, you can just point us towards the clothes and I'll make sure she doesn't fall in a bin and get lost or anything!" She nods solemnly, definitely an earnest offer of help, and not just her figuring the shorter gal probably doesn't want to deal with anyone who's got actual /authority/.

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini smiles at the newcomer as the employee-or-volunteer shrugs and signs her in; he seems to have decided he doesn't care enough to question further, and just wants to get back to his book.He gestures vaguely and lets the girls get on with things, though he will be keeping an eye out in case they actually do anything bad.
Hannah hurries over to an unsorted pile of clothing, hoping the other girl will accompany her for further conversation, though she doubts Nico's seeking a new outfit - the one she already has is probably better than anything on offer here. Besides, that black's practical - hides the stains that accumulate through living on the street!

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico follows along casually enough, small backpack swinging off her shoulder... it's not quite /entirely/ black, with a few colourful pins stuck in it, but it's also bulging like the girl's carrying her life with you. She gives a little wave to the clerk and follows along in Hannah's wake, apparently nothing more pressing to do than make sure the girl finds the clothes and has someone watching her back.
Not that Nico's brandishing a switchblade at anyone who looks Hannah's way or anything, but the goth girl's got an easy, casual wariness to her like she's done this before. She grins crookedly as she eyes the pile of clothing, "Let me know if you're like... super attached to the jacket, despite the uhh... I'm assuming /previous/ owner's choice of social club! I know some ways we can get it all patched up and cleaned off good as new."

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini is already sifting through the clothes, searching for options in her size that won't impede her fighting. Her hands are still trembling, but she doesn't seem to be nervous - maybe it's a medical condition? She glances to the goth and shakes her head, saying, "Thank you, but i want to be rid of it; i was tempted to simply throw it away, but nudity is frowned upon. But perhaps your talents would help it be useful to another?" She glances doubtfully at the tattered sleeves... well, beggars can't be choosers.
Oh, lucky! She finds a few things in her size - even a pair of velcro-fastened gym shoes! Her fingers struggle with shoelaces, so this is perfect!
She also pulls out a couple of gothy-looking things to offer to Nico. They're probably terrible, though. Hannah doesn't know anything about fashion.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico taps her chin thoughtfully with her left hand, metallic finger moving as naturally as her right hand... in fact, she barely seems to notice she's doing it. One eyebrow perks slightly at the tremoring but... well, Hannah doesn't seem worried by it, so it's probably under control. "Oh! Well, I mean, if you want to like, celebrate getting a new start or whatever, we can also burn it. I'd say like... ritually, but that makes people think of dancing in a forest on a full moon and other witchy witch things. I mean just... burn it. So it's like... catharsis."

Nico hums softly, eying the tanktop and skirt offered up... and then grins broadly and snatches them, "Oh! These'll do great! I mean, I'm all about keeping up looks, but..." She gestures at the dress she wears, and heaves out a sigh, "A few more weeks and this becomes a /reeeeeal/ hazard during sunny days. Can't keep hustling when you're melting into a puddle."

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini instinctively watches Nico's hands as they approach, and finally notices that unnatural limb. She blatantly stares at it a moment, but decides against saying anything and turns back to the clothes. Nico would need at least one more arm to compete with what Hannah's seen recently, anyway.
She pulls out a couple of t-shirts in her size and holds them up for Nico to judge; one looks like a third-party Disney knock-off, and the other's similarly inspired by My Little Pony. Neither is of any great artistic merit. There aren't many options when you're the size of a 11-year-old.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico notices that blatant stare, because... well, she's used to it. She offers a lopsided, wordless little grin and wiggles those fingers. She tilts her head, eyebrows lifting high at the shirt options, then furrowing, teeth worrying on her lower lip, marring black lipstick as she hums out, "I say... /take both/! I mean, this city's pretty crazy and you never know when you're going to wind up with your outfit torn by some sort of crazy alien invasion, or like... angels, or just some assholes on the street at night." She's probably listing those in ascending orders of likelihood. "Seriously, first rule of having to hit up a shelter or whatever is don't let that voice in your head telling you you shouldn't take what you need because someone needs it more. Get yours."

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini considers. "Wise, but i lack a place to keep spares. Except here, perhaps? Anyway, if i had had extra garments when those Friends of Humanity people took me, i would have lost those too." She quickly settles on the badly-drawn ponies; at least they might look funny.
"Um... do you want to look for more clothes, or..." She looks around. "What do people do in these shelters? I have never been in one before."

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico bobs her head with a low, thoughtful noise, "Yeah, that's a fair point. You can probably get some kind of at least temporary room here, they've got like... four floors of converted offices." She chews her lower lip for a long moment, glancing around, shoulders hunching up a little, a subtle shift from casual and relaxed to more cagey, hackles raised at the idea of staying anywhere, "Oh, usually grab a meal, a hot shower or two... or three. Depending on how many you can get away with. Most people stay a night or two. I usually just drop in for a meal if I haven't had a good run of earning."

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini hadn't considered that this might be a short-term thing. She runs back to the desk and tells the employee-or-volunteer that she'd like to volunteer as a cook or a healer, if that might be useful; perhaps this would let her stay longer? The man glances over from his book, shrugs, and tells her the boss'll be here later, so she can ask then.
Message delivered, Hannah returns to Nico, thinking it makes sense to let the expert take the lead. Considering more of the goth girl's words, she asks, "Earning? How do we earn?"

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico shrugs lightly as Hannah returns and grins crookedly, almost wearily, "I mean, it depends. If you've got like... ID and a high school education, I wholeheartedly recommend a paying job. Get one stocking shelves at a supermarket or whatever." She heaves out a sigh and murmurs dryly, "If you can't keep a paper trail, well, there's always busking, if you know how to play an instrument, or like... fake tarot reading?" She narrows her eyes, lips quirking playfully, "But if you're going to try tarot reading, we'll have to make sure we don't work the same spots at the same time." She clears her throat and murmurs out, "There are other ways to make some cash of course, but... really, stick to finding a job. You don't want to go down that path."

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini's hope dims as Nico lists the requirements. "No ID, no... official high school - had to stop when my nerves started destroying themselves. Who would hire me to stock shelves?" She stretches an arm up as high as she can to demonstrate. No high shelves for her.
"No instruments - my nerve damage prevents most musical options, even if i had the skill - and i lack talent for cold reading."
She sighs. "Were you alluding to mugging people? I will not do that. Perhaps if i am helpful here, they will let me stay?" It might be noteworthy that, after unhesitatingly indicating her lack of ability at other occupations, she mentioned only a moral opposition to mugging.

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico snorts softly, almost choking out, head shaking quickly, "Nonono, not mugging people. Really, forget I said anything else, but..." she frowns thoughtfully and quirks an eyebrow, "Maybe some kind of... government assistance? I imagine you can get some kind of stipend for shelter and food at the least, maybe find a reception job... heck, starting here to be able to throw it on a resume's probably a solid idea." She shakes her head more sternly, "And really, I mean if it comes down to it... mugging Humanity First douchebags is probably a better choice than taking up the oldest profession. But yeah, try to get on here as a helper for room and board, then work your way up the ladder!"

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini giggles in a way that seems at odds with her almost Vulcan speech pattern. "Appealing though it may be, ethical targets for mugging are not a reliable income source... although, if i were to pose as a prostitute, my size might attract pedophiles to punch. Anyway, i hope the boss will accept my application when they return... For now, should we get food or a shower? I will be glad to be out of this smelly jacket."

Nico Minoru has posed:
Nico snorts, not her usual cool, dismissive noise, it's more of an almost choking, utterly uncontrolled sounds like her lungs and her throat just stopped working together for a moment as she wheezes out, "I... yeah, I mean there's a lot of reasons not to do that particular job. We'll find you something else." She grins and cocks her hip, humming out, "Let's get you a shower first, and then we'll be right in time for the lunch service. Probably some kind of really decent soup, maybe some good sandwiches if some fancy function had a ton of leftovers. But whatever it is, you can't beat free."
She snaps those metallic fingers of her left hand and gestures off further into the building, "We'll track down the showers and see if they're like... one of those godawful giant rooms, or individual stalls. If it's a stall in a room I'll keep guard on the door for you."

Hannah Montalcini has posed:
Hannah Montalcini smiles to what might be the first actual friend she's made since coming to this country. "Thank you, but i can protect myself. If we are lucky, there might be two shower rooms and neither of us will need to wait?"
She hurries back to the desk to get directions to the ablutionary facilities; friendship is good, but she can't bear this stinking jacket much longer!