"Well, you're half-right. I never owned anyone." Erin scoots herself to the edge of the stage so her feet can dangle off it, and half-hunches. Unwilling, or unable, to face Tear directly. "...I was a slave myself. I became a slaver when my master traded me conditional freedom for my continued service to him. I would catch escaped slaves like myself, or kidnap new ones and condemn them to a fate as bad as my own. Most of my life I was in that line of work, Tear. Near on three decades. I was..."

Another nickel. It's not like Erin's going to run out of them. She throws it with far less force, frustrated at herself, at her life, at the situation.

"...I was very good at it. A legend in my time. Liz Malloy, the Pirate with the Pearl Eyes. Things changed only recently. I attacked the wrong person and he handed my ass to me on a silver platter. And he...he asked me if I was happy. And that destroyed me to hear. Been a year and a half, two years, since then. Trying to be better. To help people."