"Hello," Beauty said, from the sidewalk behind this scraggly man.
It had been less than a day since the City returned her home. It was still a little bit of a surprise to wake up and to find that she was home, really home. All last night, she'd been afraid to go to sleep. Sometime around when the birds began singing, she realized she'd missed her chance for sleep anyway. Fortunately, it was a Saturday, and she didn't have to work.
How strange, to know that she needed to go to work. Strange, and, she thought with a smile, very wonderful.
She kept her distance; she didn't approach. This man looked a lot like some of the ones in die Festung. And if it were, well.... she knew better, now, than to try to make friends. But in case he needed help, she would stop. She would wait and see.