Baoters

Marrow had known of this fabled restaurant for ages, having been a local for her entire life. Honestly, she held a sliver more respect for the waitresses working there than regular miserable blue-collar workers - they used a perfectly crafted facade and immeasurable charm to ensure a larger paycheck at the end of the day. It was, in some ways, a form of scam to a degree, and Marrow understood scams quite well. Her interest in the locale had been mildly piqued after her previous encounter with Yogu a little over a week ago, and after seeing the bartender reinforce the whole 'acting for tips' schtick, an idea sprouted. She had invited him by just as a demonstration, a personal need to just display the machinations of the service industry to a clean-nosed human who still abhorred the hardworking criminals in the world.

...Marrow was, therefore, quietly upset that her paychecks and tip rate as a waitress were quite nice. About half the rate of criminal activities on an average day, but that wasn't an anti-feat by any measure. Plus the work was consistent, predictable, and didn't rely on liquid sources of wealth to turn a profit. The turn of events led her to two possible conclusions: A typical job COULD sustain her impulse spending, or her crime wasn't good enough. The latter was partially true - her crew was small-time nobodies competing in a sea of other criminals in an already moderately sized city. The rumored mega mafia operating out of central pulled in literal billions on a daily basis! Working in the tourist district where rich, wary locals and rich, dumb not-locals were the norm also did wonders for striking her nerves.

Time had stretched into the late evening, the cheerily lit restaurant in a period of calm after the storm that had been dinner. It wasn't empty, the assorted booths and tables about a quarter-full, and the kitchen/bar hybrid just as hectic as ever. Marrow wasn't legally old enough to work in the bar section (a blessing in disguise), and with the rush calming down, the newbie (her) was promptly plopped at the hostess welcoming stand properly stocked with menus galore. Marrow sported a company-approved variation on the tropical Baoter's uniform: pink thigh-length shorts, a breezy white short-sleeved overshirt (with logo, of course), and black tights + armpieces of the corresponding length underneath the more colorful bits of her outfit. It was still more skin (arms and lower legs) than she would usually show, though the change in pace didn't bother her much. The main notable differences were the inset and very prominent muscles that none of the other servers had - expected, as most weren't active fighters (and criminals).

Marrow's attention focused on the chiming of the entryway, a sculpted yet authentic-looking smile crossing her lips as THE MAN himself entered. "Oh, hey! It's you!" The cheery, bubbly tone harshly juxtaposed the near-monotone and indifferent voice Marrow had spoken in before. "Come on in, and I'll get ya sorted out."

"I'm super spooky, I know." She'd lean forward a tad, giving a small wink to the (rightfully) taken aback Yogu. It was fun to watch him squirm. Not out of any sense of revenge, mind you, just an animalistic joy in the discomforting dissidence her acting could evoke. "Well, I'd try to get that done before heading into a restaurant next time! Could always try dumping a few glasses of water if ya want." The overblown fit of laughter was thankfully dulled enough to not attract any major attention from the other patrons or staff, Marrow's smile staying steady as Yogu approached her.

"Sure thing," She replies to his request for a table without skipping a beat, hand snapping up a single menu. "Right this way!" Marrow's stride was quick and purposeful, guiding the pair away from the filled quarter of the establishment and into the disquietingly empty section. Opting for a two-person situated against the wall, the teenager gestured at the open seat: "Annnd here we are! Name's Marci, can I get you anything to drink?" Neither notepad nor pen were procured, implying she intended to service this potential trainwreck of a night by memory alone. An oversight or some sort of bravado?

Before Yogu had a chance to respond, a far more business-casually dressed, clean-shaven amorphous aged man manager appeared at Marrow's side instead. "This one of your friends, Marci? Heard a little commotion upfront, but looks like you have it handled." The man paused to check his gold-plated wristwatch, rectangular glasses glinting. "Go ahead and get yourself something to eat, too, while you catch up. You're almost off the clock so consider this your last table for tonight." The hybrid rubbed one of her arms in faux humility, giving her boss a warm smile and accompanying wink. "Thanks, Gii, totes appreciate it." Satisfied, Gii wandered off to leave Yogu and his friendly friend alone again.

"Oh, this whole thing?" Marrow waved her arms around airly. "Well, I'm not REALLY supposed to tell anyone, but..." Leaning it ever so slightly, the teenager's smile stretched into a conspiratorial one. "This is all part-time stuff! And just a temp thing, wouldn't you know it. Covering for Candy while she's out for a few with surgery. Mm, as for the why...? Sheesh, can't tell ya EVERYTHING at the start, silly. Oh! We still need our drinks, don't we? What're ya havin'?"

"Sure did!" Adopting the phrases and colloquialisms of the typical type of person to work as a waitress in this type of establishment. Despite being nothing more than a well-put-together facade, Marrow's acting skills and smooth behavior made it seem all the more natural for folks who hadn't had the displeasure of meeting her beforehand (like Yogu!). "Hey, by the way, if you don't have enough to cover for the prices here... I got ya covered. Just this time, though! First visit and all that." It wasn't like she expected junker bike boy to waltz in with a wallet big enough to buy out the menu.

-

"Strong, eh? I'll see if I can scrounge up something as strong as you!" It'd take less than a minute before Marrow returned with a bubbling golden-brown flagon of some sort of beer and a bottle of... plain root beer for herself. "Figured you'd wanna talk as you browse before ordering," She explained without being asked, taking a sip from her carbonated drink. "Hmm, well, that's if you wanna talk at all. I assume ya got questions, but whether you feel the need to ask 'em is up to you." It wasn't like Marrow had anywhere to be, and with express permissions from the manager to basically hang out with her 'friend,' that wasn't liable to change.

"Aw, thanks, you!" She'd flash a quick wink at the not necessarily a compliment, but the general words were still there. "Don't think I have the heart or the patience for something like that, though. Little ol' me is plenty happy where I am now." Whether that was trying to convey Marrow was content with her new side-gig or just a statement about the whole behind-the-scenes crime thing, it was up in the air.

"I might have questions for ya," She playfully dodged the question at first, taking a long sip of her fizzy root beer. "Don't think they were ever gonna be important enough for a meeting, though. And hey! You made a choice to come n' visit when nobody was holdin' a gun to your head." At least he took the chance to think of some of his own, Marrow shrugging and staving off any inquiries of her own. "Well now that's a bit of a big question, isn't it?"

The whole side tangent about possible murder was met with a slightly confused stare. "All you had to do was... not follow the directions. Heck, if it led somewhere shady you could've turned around right there and then, too. I think I get the line of logic you ran with there, dude, but it doesn't really hold up." There was an overt frustration present in Yogu's everything right now - all tied to the big question of why. Why had she done everything she had done up until this point, and why continue it?

"You were the one who gave me the idea to try this out, y'know. Plus, I never really get a definitive, satisfying conclusion to my own interests in you." Marrow would loosely wave her free hand around, giving a big sigh before continuing. "Sure, plenty of people probably have the same spark you do, but you're a familiar face." He was rash. He was cooperative. He was a Ki user. He happened to be in the position of sentimentality - something Marrow still didn't understand.