``I want the {FiRE} back. [Bridget / Open]

[Anya]

Sometimes, although she would never admit it, Anya missed taking orders.

All her life, there had always been someone to fill the role of leader. When she'd lived in that tiny Swedish village all those centuries ago, it had been her husband, Olaf. During her many years in the service of darkness, it had been D'Hoffryn. And when she had finally 'reformed' and started palling around with the Scoobies, Buffy had always been the one to more or less take the reigns.

But now? Anya was on her own. Set upon her own path of redemption, having to make her own decisions. Which admittedly could be fun, at times—there was no one to tell her how to act or what to say. But lately...the vengeance demon had just been feeling kind of lost. Especially with the zombie population dwindling. Not that she was a fan of the undead armies, by any means. But with them around, everything had been so simple. You wanted to redeem yourself? Okay then, go save a bunch of helpless citizens from a horde of mindless mutants.

By now, though, the zombies seemed to be all but extinct. A situation that left her with no one to fight, and nothing to prove. And...Anya was starting to realize that redemption wasn't just about turning around and kicking the asses of the evil beings you used to slum with. It was more than that—more than feeling remorse, even—and she wasn't sure if this realization was something she could handle. Because now she had lost her footing, and to be honest? Anya had know idea what she was meant to do in this world, or if she even belonged in it at all.

So far, though, she'd managed to find a few ways to occupy her time and thus distract herself. Today, for instance: she'd come upon a couple of lowly, lesser demons that tended to prowl the borders of the human world. After just a smidge of intimidation (something she wasn't so great at when dealing with humans, but happened to be excellent at when in her own element), they'd coughed up a very interesting little tidbit of information. It seemed that what few zombies still resided in New York...had a few choice gathering points. One of which, if the demons were to be trusted (iffy, she knew), were the subway tunnels in this part of town.

Fighting zombies in the dark. Fun. Still, Anya had all but jumped at the chance to partake in a good ol' fashioned monster hunt. Because at least when she was fighting zombies, she knew she was doing something right.

Equipped with a flashlight and a few choice weapons, the vengeance demon had taken to the streets in hopes of finding the right subway entrance...somewhere around here. But the directions she'd been given were a little vague, and...the people around here weren't proving to be the most helpful. Growing increasingly more frustrated, the blonde abruptly paused in front of one of the subway line maps. So many...different colored lines. And therefore, so many potential zombie hot spots.

Ugh. This was just impossible.

"Excuse me, miss, could you tell me where I might find platform nine and three quarters?"

Frowning, Anya turned in the direction that the voice had came from. Standing a little ways behind her were a couple of young boys, grinning expectantly at her as if they'd just made a joke worthy of laughing at. But...Anya wasn't even sure what they were talking about. "...Uh. What?" the demon asked blankly, only to be met with a chorus of responding snickers. She watched them hurried away, scowling slightly. She wasn't exactly sure what had just happened there, but...either they had been making some pop culture reference she didn't understand, or they'd been making fun of her...or, maybe it had been a legitimate question, and they were just crazy.

Slightly miffed, she returned her attention to the map and tried to concentrate. Humans these days...

[bridget]

"So, what now, numbnuts?" the annoyed bear on the young boy's back spoke. Bridget and his rather 'colourful' companion were walking along on the streets of New York and bumped into a dead end, nearby a subway entrance. It always was a favourite place of his to go to, much more interesting than boring England, he relished the chance to finally run around such a big open city. Sure, his past visits here involved zombies or fighting something or other but maybe this would be different. Bridget was still in his usual outfit, a blue and white dress coming down to his upper thigh, some black skin tight shorts underneath, black and white clunky boots and topping it off with a hat not unlike that of a nun's. He happily walked along, idly bobbing his red yo-yo up and down. He soon came across a lady reading a subway map being bothered by a group of boys. Before Bridget could go up to them to yell at them for being mean they scattered away. He really hated it when people acted mean for no reason at all, it made him so enraged he often launched into an argument within seconds. Often it didn't come of much, just them laughing at his outburst and squeaking voice.


"Those boys were being really mean to you. It was wrong of them, is something wrong?" Bridget said in a puzzled manner, tilting his head to the side a bit and brushing his blonde bangs from his face, his sapphire blue eyes peering upwards. He spoke very softly, his voice had no harsh tones to it at all and often contributed to the guessing of his gender. Bridget's bear, Roger was still hanging onto his back, seemingly in sleep mode as of right now. Funny how he always turns himself back on when you least expect it and in the worst possible time.

[Anya]

Spotting movement out of the corner of her eye, Anya realized that she was being approached by someone else. She couldn't be certain who it was; probably one of those kids coming back to pester her again. Or maybe just some random citizen who had something to add. Narrowing her eyes slightly, she determinedly focused her full attention on the map. If this person, whoever they were, intended on wasting her time, she was going to have none of it.

But when she was addressed, it was not in a loud, mocking, or obnoxious manner. The voice was quiet and somewhat mild, and out of sheer surprise she turned to face the speaker. Standing a few feet away was...well, what she assumed to be a young girl. A blonde, blue-eyed individual wearing a blue-and-white dress and...what appeared to be some kind of teddy bear hanging from her back. The glare that Anya had fixed the girl with had initially been harsh and irritable, but her expression softened a bit as she noted the politely concerned nature of the question, as well as the girl's generally innocent demeanor. No threat here, it seemed. After a brief moment, the vengeance demon allowed herself to relax.

A less direct kind of person probably would've offered up some vague sort of response to being asked what was wrong by a complete stranger. Anya, however, was not one to beat around the bush. "Well. I'm tired, and confused, and a little lost. Apparently they think that's funny." the demon huffed with a scowl in the direction that the boys had run off in. "But seeing as they're young, and immature..." And human, she added this last part mentally, "I think I can find it in my heart to forgive them." Such words were rarely spoken by a creature whose entire nature revolved around the concept of revenge...but then again, Anya had always been one to break the mold.

Trying to forget that little incident, she allowed herself to drift back into her usual curious nature. Inquisitively, she took a closer look at the 'girl' in an effort to learn something about who this stranger was. She wasn't excellent at guessing human ages, being perpetually stuck as a twenty-six year old woman herself, but...this girl appeared to be somewhere in her late teens. And friendly enough, so it would appear. Well, that made one decent individual out of the millions that resided here in this city. Still, here was a chance to seek some assistance, and Anya wasn't going to throw it away.

"I don't suppose you could help me, could you?" the blonde woman asked tentatively after a moment. "I'm looking for the 14th Street line...but someone gave me some bad directions, and this map's like some kind of cryptic ancient code with all its obnoxiously bright colored lines, and...and I'm all turned around." she said, allowing some of her frustration to shine through as she finished her little spiel.

[bridget]

Bridget was staring at the woman in front of him. He often had the approach of just going up and talking to people, it could sometimes be problematic though. Many of his encounters have ended in a fight afterwards. Still, this lady seemed really nice but there was something about her he couldn't put his finger on. "They're just a bunch of... of... of... IDIOTS! Bridget said a bit loudly, his shrill voice cracking a bit. It always made him so angry when people hassled others strictly for fun, it was something he stood up against. However, when this lady mentioned about them being young and immature, Bridget nodded in agreement. "Yes, they are. I assure you, I'm not going to be mean though. Promise!" he said the last part with a squeal, somewhat happy he's found a new friend. He was grinning happily towards the woman.

Bridget always went into every situation cheerful and happy, never shunning anybody or passing judgement unless he knew they were evil. In this case, this lady was just lost and needed direction. Bridget didn't really know New York too well, he had no real way of telling where they needed to go. "Uhm, I have no idea where we can go. I know someone that might." Bridget said, tapping the bear on his back. Roger's head automatically turned towards the boy. "Whaddaya want?! I'm tryin' to sleep here. Roger spoke with a slight mechanical whirring noise each time his mouth opened. "14th Street Line, please." Bridget beamed towards him. " 'bout five minutes North, you're there. the mechanical bear said with a growly tone to his voice.

[Anya]

The outburst regarding the boys being idiots was certainly unexpected, given the teen's previously soft-spoken demeanor. Though she was a bit taken aback, the demon's only reaction was to blink once...and then smile slightly. "Yes! Exactly!" Anya agreed, somewhat appreciative that this girl seemed to share her irritation. And her initial impression that this stranger could be considered friendly didn't seem incorrect, what with her generally bubbly attitude. She even seemed more than willing to help out, stating that she knew someone who they could ask for assistance. Anya immediately brightened at the possibility, and glanced around as if she expected to see some sort of night in shining armor ready to leap to their aid. "Great, thank you! So where are th—"

"Whaddaya want?! I'm tryin' to sleep here"

A gruff, agitated voice cut her off mid-question. Bewildered, the blonde quizzically peered over her newfound companion's shoulder. The speaker sounded as if he were located somewhere nearby, in the teenager's general direction in fact. It was only after he spoke the second time that the vengeance demon actually realized what was going on.

"Hey, um, miss..? Your...your bear just talked." Anya stated the obvious bluntly. It was more of a startled observation rather than an actual attempt to point this out to the girl, seeing as she was clearly already aware of this fact. But...how? Was it a robot, or something?...Or maybe it was possessed! Anya's eyes widened at the thought, and she gaped slightly as she looked from the teen to the bear she was carrying. The bear, or whatever it actually was, had (albeit rather begrudgingly) provided the directions she'd needed...and it seemed somewhat appropriate to make a...reply of some sort.

Peering around the girl in an attempt to get a better look, Anya grinned nervously. "Um...yes. Thank you!" the demon chirped in a falsely cheery tone, before her gaze darted to the teen's again and her expression instantly grew somber. "Can we trust it?" she whispered dramatically, only vaguely aware of how ridiculous she looked trying not to be overheard by a teddy bear.

[bridget]

Bridget always was a bit fearful when Roger piped up with one of his 'words of wisdom' as he liked to call them. The haggard and worn bear often said some of the most remarkably offensive things to ever come out of such an innocent looking thing's mouth. Often it went straight over Bridget's head what he was saying, the naive young man really had no grasp on some of the adult things the foul mouthed bear said. Bridget's mind was pretty pure, he knew what words were swearing and dared never to speak them, yet no real idea of what each word meant. Bridget's soft demeanour however made him cringe whenever he heard that rough and grumpy voice.

"I-I'm not a miss... Bridget said in a puzzled manner, he was commonly mistaken for a young girl. Why he was mistaken for one was always a mystery. Maybe it was his dress sense or his voice, it wasn't clear to him quite what was so girly. However, he wouldn't dwell on it. "Oh yeah, Roger talks a lot. Ignore him if he says anything filthy. He's got a foul mouth on him. He's just really cranky we were stuck on a 10 hour flight. Bridget said nonchalantly, Roger's talking and often grumpy demeanour were the norm for him and it'd feel different if it was any other way.

Bridget shrugged a bit when asked if he was trustworthy. "He can be a bit of a grouchy bear sometimes. I just detonate him if he misbehaves, he hates that. I mean, he's fine and just magnetically pulls himself back together but jeez does he hate it. He won't ever do it again afterwards. Bridget said reassuringly.

[Anya]

When the young...girl who in fact wasn't so much a girl claimed not to be 'a miss', Anya nearly babbled out a quite casual reply...and then stopped and backtracked as these words actually sunk in. Had she actually mistaken this teen's gender? ..Wow. That was embarrassing. Anya knew she wasn't exactly the most socially aware person in the world, but this had never actually happened before. Taking a closer look at the boy, she attempted to re-evaluate her impression of him. His features had initially struck her as feminine, but then again, he didn't seem to have many of the...'bodily features' of a teenage girl. Ugh. Why were humans so baffling? She could take one look at a demon(provided it wasn't in its human form) and be able to tell you pretty much everything about it. But humans...

Oh, whatever. Anya dismissed the matter with a slight shrug, her fleeting attention span quickly refocusing on the talking bear, Roger. According to the teen, he had a bit of a foul mouth. Which was a bit ironic, considering that he looked like a cuddly little woodland critter. Well, if there was once thing she could learn from her experience with these two, it was that things definitely weren't always as they appeared to be. "That's alright. I don't mind grouchiness...people with bad attitudes, while generally surly and unpleasant, can usually be counted on to be pretty upfront with you. It's refreshing." the demon rambled oddly, apparently deciding to just accept the existence of the talking bear.

But wait, she was allowing herself to be distracted. Again. There were zombies to fight, and little time to waste. Although...going in there blind was probably a bad idea...but would it really be wise asking this boy for help? He didn't exactly look like the monster-fighting type, although Anya wasn't sure it was safe to assume anything about him at this point.

"Anyway, tell Roger thanks for the directions. I'm Anya, by the way. Anya Jenkins. Do you know anything about killing zombies?" she asked as casually as if she were inquiring about what the weather was supposed to be like tomorrow. It was an...abrupt question, sure, but at least it was to-the-point. Anya wasn't exactly the type to ponder things in silence. What was the point of doing that when she could simply ask?

[bridget]

Bridget was still staring at this lady, something about her still seemed odd. It was the same sort of feeling he got when he encountered a gear, yet she certainly wasn't one. Bridget often had these odd little feelings when he found someone who wasn't quite normal. He stared at her with his big blue eyes, head tilted a bit. She seemed quite baffled by his reveal of his gender. "Didn't the symbol on my head give it away easy enough?" he thought to himself, still looking towards the lady with his usual cheerful smile.

"Roger can be a real mean bear sometimes. I don't mind it personally, I don't even understand half of the things he says. It's just that I can tell it's usually pretty offensive." Bridget said almost with a shrug, Roger's offensive nature was lost on his still very innocent mind. Bridget knew what most of the swearing he said meant, but none of the other terms or phrases. Bridget's understanding of offensive phrases was almost nill, he really was completely naive to more adult terms.

Bridget's gaze suddenly shot up to meet Anya's when she asked about killing zombies. He nodded in a melancholic manner, his usually happy face turning to a slightly saddened one. Bridget was really upset by his run ins with the undead hordes here. He fought alongside the legendary Jill Valentine but couldn't grasp the fact the first thing he ever killed was one of those zombies. "I've fought them before.... he managed to squeak out, still shook up from his past experiences with them.

[Anya]

As the teen voiced his musings on his bear companion, Anya stood up a little straighter, her eyes bright with interest. She nodded almost immediately when the boy mentioned Roger as being offensive, as if affirming that she completely knew where he was coming from. In reality, it was actually the bear that Anya could relate to. She'd been told, quite often actually, that the things she said were "offensive" as well...although she wasn't quite sure why. Humans and their sensitivity, she supposed. They actually lied just to make each other feel better, and called it...what? Tact? Well, whatever, it wasn't something she was going to dwell on. Besides, according to the boy, he was more or less oblivious to the nature of the things that came out of Roger's mouth. Raising her eyebrows slightly, Anya couldn't help but ive an amused grin at the picture this painted. She had stumbled upon quite the couple of characters, it seemed.

But then her smile faded when the teen answered her next question, his answer...wasn't quite what she'd been expecting. Despite her doubts, it seemed he had actually fought zombies before...and for some reason looked completely depressed about it. Tilting her head slightly, Anya fixed him with a bemused stare. "Well, good! You don't have to look so sad about it." she told him lightly, making an attempt to cheer him up...until another thought occurred to her, and her eyes widened. "Oh crap. Unless they like. Ate your whole family or something. I guess that would be sad." the vengeance demon mused rather bluntly.

She gazed at the boy uncertainly for a moment, vaguely wondering how big of a nerve she was striking with this whole zombie thing. Then again, maybe she was just misinterpreting! It wouldn't be the first time.. "Well anyways! The reason I ask is 'cause that subway I'm trying to find? It's kinda zombie-invested...and I was sort of going to ask you for help, but if you're an orphan-via-zombie attack or something, I guess that'd be kinda insensitive." Anya shrugged slightly, seemingly oblivious to her own babbling. "Oh! And I never got your name. Just Roger's." Her gaze once again flickered to the bear before resting expectantly on the boy carrying it while she awaited his response.

[bridget]

Bridget often was awkward around those he didn't know, maybe it was just his whole shy demeanour that made it difficult to branch out. Whereas this conversation about zombies had shook him up, when this woman mentioned about his family he shook his head. "Oh no, no, no. None of my family got hurt by these things. They're all the way back in England. I just fought some with this police lady... Or was she an army lady? Hmm... It happened, he went onto yet another of his tangents, almost looking focused on that rather than the zombies. He shook his head after a moment of thinking. "Anyway, I ended up killing one and I've never killed a single thing in my entire life before that. Bridget said, visibly shook up. He really did love all living things and sure zombies weren't technically alive, they were still walking around so it felt wrong to him to have to kill them. If that subway you want to find has zombies like you say however, I can't let you go alone. That'd be crazy. he added on, realizing he has to atleast offer some protection.

"My name's Bridget." He piped up, now a bit more cheerful. Bridget often had an odd way with his emotions, he could be sad one minute then overly cheerful the next. He usually was just his usual hyperactive self most of the time. It's part of what made him appear much younger than he is. "So, why you wanna fight those things anyway. he said, quite puzzled that she'd actively want to fight zombies. "I dunno about you, but they scare me so much!They're gross, and icky and rotting and gory and EWWW!" his eyes widened as he squealed that out, realizing he went off on another of his tangents.

[Anya]

Anya brightened a little once the boy who introduced himself as Bridget reassured her that his family had not, in fact, been eaten by zombies. Well! That was a plus. On the other hand, he did look somewhat disconcerted as he went on to explain why the mention of zombies had affected him so particularly. It wasn't what they'd done to him so much as what he'd done to them. Well...one of them, anyway. Hmm. She blinked curiously as she considered this, taking a moment to analyze this statement before responding. "Oh. I understand. Causing pain is upsetting." the vengeance demon stated matter-of-factly. Unfortunately, being a former murderous havoc-wreaking demonic entity, Anya couldn't make any similar claims when it came to not having killed a lot of people. But...the bubbly, reformed woman she was now didn't like to think back on that too much.

"But think of it this way!" she added on a slightly more cheerful note. "If you hadn't killed that zombie, it might've gone on to kill someone else! Like a...cute little kid...or a puppy, or something. And technically, zombies are already dead anyway..." She mused on this for a moment before offering a little 'oh, whatever' sort of smile, and focusing on the fact that Bridget had actually agreed to help her fight the creatures down in the subway. Wonderful! Anya really hadn't been looking forward to going down there alone...and seeing as Bridget was at least somewhat experienced in zombie-fighting, she didn't think she had to feel too guilty about possibly putting him in danger. Besides, if things got really bad, she could always just teleport them both out of there, and...

Oh. He'd asked why she wanted to fight the zombies, too. Anya's light brown gaze snapped back to the teen, looking vaguely hesitant as she considered the question. "It's kind of a long story..." Anya muttered, suddenly looking a bit shifty. Though of course she completely agreed with Bridget's description, zombies were disgusting...she couldn't exactly just up and tell him that she fought evil because she felt that she had to make up for all the evil she herself had done in the past. She didn't want to scare him off or anything...

"I fight them because...someone has to. And I know people do...people with big guns and powerful weapons and...all kinds of things I don't have. But I'm good at fighting monsters. So I do." Anya gave a simple shrug, then paused in one of the rare moments when she actually remembered to stop and consider the feelings of the people around her. "Anyway. Thank you for coming with me...if you're sure you want to, that is. It'll be dangerous." she warned with a touch of somberness, although Bridget was probably well-aware of the fact already.

[bridget]

Bridget nodded when Anya mentioned about causing pain. He hated when he knows he's hurt someone. It makes him feel really sad that he's caused harm. Although, most of the time he puts that aside because he's fighting evil criminals that need to be taken into the authorities. Bridget really did hate to see people in pain from his attacks though. However, he was one of the few people he knew that fought non lethally. Many of the other fighters he went up against had attempted to kill him in the past, Slayer, I-no, Venom. However, Roger's explosives werent' really powerful enough to really hurt someone and the ones that were powerful were only used for clearing obstructions.

Anya now said about how those zombies could have hurt any other living things, the puppy being the one he focused on more. "Ohmigosh. I love puppies! That'd be so mean of the zombies. I'd hate them forever if I saw them do that... MEAN! It happend, Bridget went onto a tangent again. He really loved animals and hated to think of one being harmed by one of those disgusting rotting zombies. Bridget would royally freak out if he saw a puppy harmed by one of those monsters, quite possibly one of the few things that would bring him into a total rage.

As she mentioned the whole zombie hunting was a long story, Bridget nodded, closing his eyes. He had a few long stories himself much like his bounty hunter career he's taken up or how he got banished from his village. As she explained how she has to do it because that's what she's good at, Bridget nodded in agreement. "Like how I'm good at collecting bounties. He piped up with a smile. "Of course I want to help you. Bridget said to Anya, quite giddy he met another friend.

[Anya]

Collecting bounties? Anya's interest sparked at that. So Bridget was some sort of bounty hunter...like Reno! Or that was what Anya gathered from this comment, anyway. She wondered briefly what all Bridget's job entailed...he didn't strike her as the criminal-hunting type, but she was quickly learning not to jump to conclusions. As a rule, the vengeance demon was generally wary around anyone associated with the law. Not that she broke it on a regular basis or anything, but...human law enforcement tended to be a bit wary when it came to supernatural creatures of any sort. Yet as far as she could tell, Bridget neither seemed untrustworthy nor particularly suspicious of her. And he'd agreed to help her, after all!

"Great!" Anya flashed a grin, quickly seeming to forget all about the 'dangers' she'd just spoken of. Turning to contemplate which route to take, the demon mused to herself, "Let's see...five minutes north..." Though she frequently had difficulty navigating the maze-like streets of New York, she did possess a fairly reliable sense of natural direction. One which was currently telling her that north was.. "This way!" She nodded in satisfaction and, motioning for Bridget to follow her, started off down the block.

At least today was turning out to be much better than it had initially promised. She'd made a new friend, had found some creatures that were safely labeled 'evil' to fight, and...for the moment, she was feeling somewhat useful again. With a light spring in her step and a cheerfulness that would hardly suit any normal person heading off to face zombies in a dark, deserted tunnel, Anya turned back to Bridget as she walked. "So you're a bounty hunter?" she inquired curiously. "My...well, I guess you could call him my roommate, Vince. He's a bounty hunter. ..He's very secretive about it, though." Anya stated thoughtfully. To be fair, if anyone had reason to be discrete about themselves, Reno certainly did. Still, she couldn't help but wonder. "What's it like?" she asked, spurred by these thoughts. Well, that and she figured it was probably better to make sure that Bridget wasn't some kind of infamous demon hunter, or something.

[bridget]

Bridget brushed the blonde bangs from his face once more, staring up at the woman who was just a bit taller than him. She really seemed happy with his job collecting bounties. Honestly, to Bridget it was annoying career. I mean, Sol Badguy constantly evaded capture and Slayer did Mach Punch him so hard it should have liquefied him. It seems the work of a bounty hunter is never done and it's always tough. "Yeah, it's kinda cool sometimes and it pays well on the few occasions I manage to bring in the criminal." he said with a smile, somewhat embarrassed with the fact nine times out of ten the criminal escapes and Bridget ends up with another black mark on his record due to his carelessness. His latest escapade involved a notorious murderer named Venom escaping Bridget and losing him yet another bounty.

When Anya had seemingly found north and headed off Bridget ran a bit to keep up, he had an odd way of running, often flailing his arms back and sprinting at top speed. He had decent agility to make up for his sub par strength. He often made use of that speed by performing more acrobatic attacks to use while fighting criminals. As Bridget caught up, he began a slow walk. Even his walk was quite odd, being a bit bouncy and rolling his yoyo alongside him, springing it up with every turn before starting again.

Seemingly now, Anya was mentioning her roommate being a bounty hunter. Bridget didn't really know of many others, his friend May worked as one and often teamed up with him to fight the stronger criminals like Slayer. "Oh wow, I've not seen that many bounty hunters before. Just me and May. She's a pirate, isn't that totally AWESOME! Like.. She has this big, HUGE anchor and stuff.. She's totally epic!..." Bridget was gushing again, this time about how cool May was. She was always a good friend of his and often transported him with her airship. "Ahem, Oh right. Being a bounty hunter is pretty cool." He said after his little fanboy outburst, blushing and seemingly embarrassed. Bridget often idolized people who were much tougher and stronger than him, much like he was about Jill Valentine with his recent meeting.

[Anya]

Anya fought back a grin at Bridget's obvious admiration of his friend May, and listened patiently as he went on to describe her...she was pirate, it seemed. Anya blinked upon hearing this, turning to gaze at Bridget with mild interest. "A pirate?" she repeated curiously. A couple centuries ago, the demon had met her fair share of pirates...and punished quite a few of them, actually. With all the trouble old-world pirates had a knack for causing, there was always someone looking for vengeance against them. "I didn't know they still existed...does she have a boat, and everything?" She was slightly mystified by this; of course, Anya almost certainly wasn't thinking of the modern kind of pirate that May was. "...My ex-fiance has an eye-patch." Might as well throw that out there, she randomly decided. Not that wearing an eye-patch made Xander an actual pirate, all of his joking claims to be one aside...but hey, it was kinda relevant to the conversation! Right?

She continued to muse on this as the two of them walked along, chatting quite casually despite the danger they were headed into. Nodding thoughtfully in response to Bridget's last comment, Anya reflected that at least the teen's work seemed mostly criminal-centric. She certainly wasn't any kind of criminal...a demon, yes but a criminal? Well...not anymore, anyway. "It sounds very exciting. I bet you travel a lot." the vengeance demon sighed wistfully, her gaze flickering up to the city skyline. If there was one thing Anya missed about her hellish line of work, it was all the places she'd gotten to see. Settling down in the city wasn't exactly her preferred lifestyle, but New York was where a good many of the zombies were. It was where people needed protection. As to what she was going to do when the last of them were cleared out...well, she hadn't given it much thought yet. She was trying not to, actually.

"I just mostly stay around here. I work at a department store, which requires me to interact with lots of obnoxious people on a daily basis...but they give me money, so I don't mind. Much. It is kind of boring, though." But she shrugged; money was money. And Anya could hardly complain that her life outside of work was boring. Pausing a moment to glance at the street sign on the corner, she figured that their destination could only be a few blocks away. It was kinda creepy, when you thought about it...there could be zombies under their feet...right now.

Quickly banishing that thought from her mind, she continued on her way...but not before yet another question popped into her mind. One which she of course wasted no time in voicing. "How long have you been here?" It was quite possible that Bridget, being a bounty hunter, was only here in New York temporarily...but if that was the case, Anya would guess that he'd already been here awhile. He didn't seem quite as ruffled by the large crowds of people, or intimidated by the ceaseless amount of traffic, as she had been when she'd first arrived here. But then, there wasn't much about human life that didn't intimidate Anya.