Blast from the Past 4: Berries and Bird Food

*The name they gave her?*
That woman was strange, really strange. But still she shook her hand.
"People call me Raven."
Anja didn't use her real name at this time, nobody should know that Anja Mueller still existed. From the carriage of her weapon, Anja was now pretty sure that it was a firearm, having witness the guards of her old mistress. A baton or a taser had still an upper end and a *useless* end. But you could carry them around as you wanted, but a firearm which got dropped on the wrong spot could take severe damage. Especially the fragile and specialized ones.

Anja was finally ready to leave after she had picked up some more berries and simply walked back the way she had come.
"Runa-san I guess? You're no American girl."

"Raven..." she confirmed the name spoken to her as she shook the blonde's hand firmly. "Pleasure to meet you," she said, bowing her head a bit politely.

Such a weird name, but Runa didn't particularly care about it. What's in a name anyways. As she shifted a bit, the cloth she she used as a cover for the long object she carried moved a bit, revealing a sword hilt. Realizing that, the short haired girl quickly fixed the cloth to conceal her weapon. As Raven, or so she was called was starting to leave, Runa would got up and follow the girl from behind.

"Uh-uh. Japanese. Half." she said plainly. "The other half was Russian, or so I was told. You're from here?"

"No. I am of German descent but used to live in Japan most of the time."
Strange enough to met another Japanese in the USA, in the middle of nowhere in a park. But then, Central Park was an attraction for itself.

At the end of the little trail Anja had been coming from, a construction site waited, with her readying a thief's kit to pick the lock with a routine motion. The *pirate girl* carried a gun and was low on food, so she probably would not take offense to something like that.
"Central Park is largely held in repair by a club of volunteers. When funds run low, the construction stops and containers are deserted for some weeks. Locks are pathetic, but at least they try. I lock it again every day to not raise suspicion."

"I see," Runa replied, a bit intrigued by what the girl said about living in Japan for most of the time.

As they arrived at a construction site, the short haired girl looked at Raven took out something that seems familiar to her. A lock picking tool? Does that mean she's a thief? she thought to herself, but decided not to ask. When she heard the girl's words, it confirmed her suspicion and she placed the covered thin object she carried above Raven's shoulder from behind.

"You're going to steal... from the poor?" she asked without any expression.

A small grin returned to her face when she entered the container and put her backpack on a wooden stool. It was a little bit messy by design in the inside. Whatever it was that Runa was carrying around, Anja was not afraid she would use it. Could have done that all the way, and footprints in a container were much more easy to identify then in a park.
"Uhm, no. The hired construction corporation is still a corporation. I basically just take advantage of an unused asset. I like to see it more in a way that I am doing them a favor with a guardian service."

The container would not stay empty for long anyway. Christmas would bring new money in, and then construction would start again.
"Besides, I collect Berries for a meal and dance for a living. Who could be poorer than me? I even got them some gas for the generator in the yard."
Anja had no qualms about telling everyone that she was an exotic dancer, a dollar stayed a dollar. At least she didn't beg.
"You got free choice: Berriepie in a few hours, I guess beans from a dented can in a few minutes, or warmed fries and burger."

"Fair enough," Runa said as she lowered her weapon and went along with what's the girl was going to do.

The short haired girl would look around to find that the place was kind of deserted just like the blonde said. As she heard about Raven's description on what she did to earn her living, Runa gave her a slightly curious look. Who could be poorer than her? Did she really meant that?

"There are a lot of poorer people than you, actually," she said plainly. "Like the kids in Africa... But I guess it's a part of human nature to think that their problems are the worst," she said her last sentence as she looked away.

She didn't say that to make fun of her of or anything. On the hindsight, she probably didn't need to go that far just to rebut Raven's point. It probably had something to do with the hunger. No, she reminded herself. She just wanted to say it regardless whenever she met someone who made a similar claim to the blonde's. In the past she was more reserved and always kept her opinions to herself. Could it be that her mind was starting to rebel against her now? She let out a sigh without looking back at Raven.

"Sorry," she said in a low voice. "Anything is fine, really."

The girl raised a hand up and wiggled it a little bit to show that she did not insist to be the poorest ever.
"Ok. But you don't have to look at Africa to see poor people, and your stomach tells otherwise too. Not my fault that my tits make some money for me, I just play with the cards dealed."
Poor people were virtually everywhere, just the grade of poorness was different. But she did not want to break an argument about poor and poorer, so she let it just pass.
"Burgers then. Never got to eat them since a few months. Unhealthy but great stuff."
Anja produced a bag from under some table with the bounty of a busy morning and pressed a remote button to start the generator for the microwave to also start for fries and burgers.
"Take a seat."

The short haired girl looked back at Raven and nodded slightly, deciding to not argue with her further. Everyone had their own point of view of life, and who was she to say what's right or wrong? She would take a seat while the blonde prepared the food, watching the girl with a blank stare for a while.

"Ah... hamburgers, the cornerstone of any nutritious breakfast..." she would suddenly said without a change of expression.

It was an attempt to warm up the mood a bit after her rather cold remark earlier. Quoting a line from a movie she watched in the past usually a good way to socialize, according to her observation. However, the way she said it, and her facial expression when she said it, probably only made the situation even more awkward.

*This girl must be a hit on parties...*
Rare was the occurrence that Anja met someone who was even less talkative than her. That was kind of nice and made her appear like she had been talking like a waterfall in comparison. Sadly you never knew if she meant something serious, sarcastic or witty, so when to laugh or be angry?
"I've always been fed with this nutrition stuff. I don't care if it's healthy or engineered, a corn stays a corn."
Rather sooner than later, the Burgers and fries were finished and ended the few seconds of awkward silence while Anja put the plate on a small table with the help of some kitchen gloves.
"Suit yourself."

It seemed Raven didn't get the reference, but who can really blame her? She probably never watched or didn't enjoy movies like Pulp Fiction. That, or Runa didn't do it right with her attempt to bring out the little joke. Never mind that. Years of shutting down your own emotions couldn't be overcome within just a few months. As the blonde served the food in front of her, the short haired girl could already feel her stomach growling again. She took off her gloves and clasp her hands in front of her before bowing her head a bit.

"Itadakimasu," she would let out plainly before picking one burger and started to eat it slowly.