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[mainiac]

Rain bit her lip in worry.  First name basis is rare outside of Badwater apparently.  Had she made a mistake?  But he had pointed it out to her so did that mean he was honest?  And maybe he had work?

"Um... Sure, why don't you have a seat?" Rain hazarded after her moments of hesitation.  "Troy, eh?  I've never heard a name like that.  Is it greek?  Erm... maybe that's a stupid question.  Uh... what do you do?"  It was pretty clear that the flustered woman was not adept at meeting new people.  (In truth she had only ever known a hundred and twenty people in her whole life up to this point.)

[Zako]

"Thanks."

Troy grabs a nearby chair and pulls it over and sits down on it, putting his drink on the table.

"I've been told that it's an old world name. Not sure what Greek is, but I like to think my name sounds alright if that's what your getting at. As to what I do for a living..."

He puts up a hand and counts of his fingers on one hand silently a few times before speaking again.

"Well... I don't really DO one thing, more like a whole bunch of things. I've been a scavenger, hunter, soldier, tracker, driver, artefact hunter, explorer, teacher, horseman, a multitude of other things and even a pilot once. But most of all, I would say that I'm an outdoorsman. I find, travel, explore and hunt in almost all conditions and terrain, do all sorts of jobs and go all sorts of places. Does that answer your question?"

Troy smiled and took a sip of his drink to let his words sink in.

"And what exactly do you do for a living?"

[mainiac]

The small town girl is blown away by the man at her table.

"Oh wow, you do a lot! Is everyone so amazing out here like you and Kat?  I'm not.  I mean back in Badwater I just used to do a bunch of boring old jobs.  People would get sick and I'd make them medicine or I'd help build tractor engines when we had the parts or repair electrical wiring when it broke.  Kiddie stuff.  It's been a bit better since I met Kat, I'm learning a few things.  But I want to know more about the places you've been.  Have you ever been to New York or Washington D.C.?"

[Dwarmin]

Kat lets the last note ring out, and let the applause thunder and fade.

"I'm much obliged to play tonight for y'all-now, here's something a bit new, one of my own songs..."

....

Kat lays in again-but this ones not a hopeful song. Kat has seen much cruelty and pain in the world, they all have. Her words are sweet, but suffused with an unbearable sadness.

It's an angry song . It's melancholic. It demands justice, for a crime that was done all of them, long ago. Many people find themselves nodding fervently-but who are they angry at?

Kat only smiles to them, urging them on. This island could use some shaking up.

♫There's a man going round...taking names...and he decides, who to spare, and who to blame.

Cause the mans got his finger on the trigger-dropped us in a pit, dig a little deep. Watch it getting hotter, and now the mans asleep...

White House screaming, sky turning black, flowers shrivel up, ain't no turning back...one last kiss girl, ain't no turning back...♫

[Zako]

"Oh you know how to fix stuff? And how to use proper medicine?"

Troy blinks a few times in shock and gives off a genuine smile. This girls was a lot more skilled than he originally thought.

"You know, knowing how to do stuff like that is really useful wherever you go. Even in the wilderness. You should be thankful that you know as much as you do, cause I suspect not even a quarter of the people out here knows as much as you do. Anyway, I'm not that amazing, I just do what I can to get by and instead of learning one thing really good, I learn a bunch of things to a level where it's useful, a jack-of-all-trades or something like that. I'm just really good at staying alive out in the wilderness, better than most at any rate."

The man rubs the back of his neck, idly tracing a scar there, lost in memory for a moment before coming back to reality.

"So, your from Badwater, huh? I think I've been there once or twice in my travels. Small place, but it seemed alright. As for New York, or DC? Oh, I've never been to the big old cities, and for good reason judging by the stories. They are either craters chock full of radiation, or are infested with all sorts of nasty critters and bandits. I have been to a few big places though, like Rustbucket Enclave on the coast or the Rushmore Settlement that's inland, and they seemed interesting for a time. I've really just stuck to wide open places and smaller towns, like this one for example, and I've crossed desserts and plains that have stretched for further than you can imagine. It's dangerous work, but life is a lot more dangerous than it used to be there's a savage beauty out there of a kind, hidden in the rolling hills and stretching plains."

He takes another sip to clear his throat before speaking again.

"In any case I noticed that you seemed out of sorts around here, like you don't really know how to handle yourselves out there, and I thought that I might be able to help with that. You see, I'm also somewhat of a guide, having traveled quite a distance by now and I figured that since our hosts in this small town will probably kick us both out on our asses by the next day, I figure you might need some help with getting where you might like to go, or at least use some company and the help of someone who knows the land decently. Perhaps we can come to an agreement of sorts?"

[mainiac]

"You know, knowing how to do stuff like that is really useful wherever you go. Even in the wilderness. You should be thankful that you know as much as you do, cause I suspect not even a quarter of the people out here knows as much as you do."

Rain rests her face in a cupped hand as she leans against the table with her eyes downcast and her fingers on the other hand tapping upon the table.

"Yeah, you sounds like Kat there.  She says people need those skills but I can't seem to find any of them.  It doesn't seem that special to me.  Back in Badwater everyone knew how to do the stuff I do."

Anyway, I'm not that amazing, I just do what I can to get by and instead of learning one thing really good, I learn a bunch of things to a level where it's useful, a jack-of-all-trades or something like that. I'm just really good at staying alive out in the wilderness, better than most at any rate."

As Troy pauses to reflect Rain muses out loud a little herself.

"Geez, I can't imagine doing that.  Living out in the wilds without any farms or tools.  Sounds dangerous."

There's a lull in the conversation which Troy fills.

"So, your from Badwater, huh? I think I've been there once or twice in my travels. Small place, but it seemed alright."

Rain gives Troy a suspicious look, clearly not believing him and not even thinking to hide it.  She says nothing though so he decides to soldier on and change the subject, talking about other places and the countryside which placates her some.

"That sure does sound like a sight to see.  I just started travelling with Kat a month back and before then I'd never seen anything but mountains and valleys my whole life.  Walking through these open valleys... I understand what you mean about the beauty."  She contentedly nods and let's Troy make his proposition.  When he finishes he doesn't have a clue what to do about it.

"Um... well gee."  Rain leans way back in her chair and scraps her thumbnail over her teeth as she ponders, eyes shifting from side to side uncomfortably.  "I mean that sure does sound great of you to offer and whatnot but I think I'd rather ask Kat for her opinion.  She tends to handle... y'know... people.  Why don't you ask her after this song?"

[Caellath]

Some people shuffled in their chairs as Ethan's sharp gaze ran across the bar. He took another sip of the mug he had been drinking from, filled with something the barman had said was able to take down some men in the first swig. The employee had promised it was on the house if the young man wasn't knocked out cold after sipping a bit of it.

A couple of minutes later, Ethan had his free drink and was calmly enjoying it while the barman occasionally shot confused glances at him. It was not like like looked like an old wasteland wolf, so people usually didn't expect that kind of resilience, although his looks admittedly did a lot to scare people. His clothing was almost entirely black and his large and pristinely clean revolver formed an overall of evilness, making some people think twice before messing with him.

Truth be told, the firearm only had a lone .45 bullet and a story. Even some of his attitude was born out of a knowledge of how the world worked. Even if you were strong, you'd be attracting ill-intentioned people if you acted naively or like an idiot. Ethan had that clothing due to his tastes, but it also assisted in repelling undesirable people. Of course, his attire also frightened "desirable" people as well, which was part of the reason he had been alone since he had left his home after his father's death. The other reason being he liked to stay alone. It had already been quite some time, heh?
"Heh."

He wasn't too much of a nice person, but at the very least he didn't attack other people who were just trying to survive. And so there he was, alone with his cup of Bitter Crucifixion (or at least that was the name the barman had mentioned) and paying little to no attention to the background music while reclining on his chair, boots on top of the table and a face like the end of the world could start (again) without him caring about it.

It would either take someone very brave or with some loose screws to approach him.

[Dwarmin]

Kat finishes her next song-if not to less applause than she would have liked.

"I'm taking a breather, folks. Pleasure to play for all of you tonight..."

She exited the 'stage'-more of a splintered crate to stand on-and collected her meager earnings.

A man seemingly with no eyes was on next for entertainment-he bowed, and began juggling knives effortlessly.

...

Kat made her over to the table, eyeballing the newcomer. She took a seat across from Troy, and spoke across to Rain.

"Whose this stranger? Is he giving you trouble, Rain? If he's trying to hit on you, I suggest you hold out for a better offer." She said, smiling easy at the man.

[mainiac]

"Hitting on me?  Oh... um, you aren't, are you?"  Rain gives him an inquisitive glance then shakes her head.
"No, Kat, this stranger was just saying that maybe you and I should travel with him when we left town.  Safety in numbers sort of thing.  Is that the way that people usually do things?"

[Wrex]

No one was feeling particularly generous tonight, you made 7 9mm bullets.

[Zako]

Before he could answer, Troy noticed Kat coming over and sitting down. He smiled, despite her jibe.

"Nice to meet you too Kat. Your friend here, Rain, told me your name, so don't get too worried about it. I'm Troy, and I noticed you ladies could use a bit of help in the wild. It's a dangerous place outside these walls and I'm currently between jobs, so I figured since we are getting kicked out together tomorrow, we could come to an agreement of sorts. I can help find food and water, fight bandits and wild animals, find safe paths and all sorts of interesting and useful stuff. Interested?"

[Dwarmin]

"No, Kat, this stranger was just saying that maybe you and I should travel with him when we left town.  Safety in numbers sort of thing.  Is that the way that people usually do things?"

"Yeah, that's how people should do things, Rain. You've got to be careful who you trust, though-they might just decide to cut your throat for you while you sleep and loot your corpse, or tie you up and haul you off to the local meat market...or maybe just rob you blind, leave you hungry and cold in the wastes-it's alot slower than cutting, but no less cruel. And there's some who will do whatever they like once they have you, just because they can." She said, in a conversational manner, her tone sweetly dissonant with her words. Kat rarely seemed to raise her voice for anything but her music.

It was a danger, these people. Kat had been very wary of Rain herself for a few days, until they knew each other. She had done her best to warn Rain about bandits and meat markets (or, Slaver Camps)-about how some of them had taken lying to an artform, and enjoyed trapping the guileless. Not all of the matched the cliche, either-the road leather wearing, tattooed, piercing clad hulks that seemed to be the popular conception of them.

Some monsters were quite congenial-until they got you.

So, Kat didn't quite trust this man at first glance, but she listened to him.

"Nice to meet you too Kat. Your friend here, Rain, told me your name, so don't get too worried about it. I'm Troy, and I noticed you ladies could use a bit of help in the wild. It's a dangerous place outside these walls and I'm currently between jobs, so I figured since we are getting kicked out together tomorrow, we could come to an agreement of sorts. I can help find food and water, fight bandits and wild animals, find safe paths and all sorts of interesting and useful stuff. Interested?"


She addressed Troy directly.

"You make a good case.

I'm not unfriendly to strangers, but how can we trust you...Troy? Some guys see two gals like us traveling alone and they think 'jackpot, lucky me'...you one of those guys?" Kat said, reading his response. She knew she would be able to tell if he was lying.

[Zako]

Troy nodded in understanding. He had expected this, so much so that it was somewhat odd to him when Rain didn't ask him herself.

"If your wondering if I'm a slaver or a mugger, then I'll let you know that I'm neither but that I have stolen from them and even killed a few, but only when I needed to. As to the question of trust, you can't really trust anyone anymore, no matter what they say, so I'll leave that decision to you two.

And if I were thinking of a jackpot, I wouldn't have bothered with you two and have gotten it a long time ago. So no, I'm not that kind of guy, I'm just an outdoorsman looking for work. If you really don't want my assistance, I can just take my business elsewhere, but I judging from Rain here saying your low on food, I have douts that we'll meet again."

He swirls his drink and takes a sip.

"Your choice, but tell me yes or no right now so I know if I'm wasting my time."

[Dwarmin]

Troy swirls his drink and takes a sip.

"Your choice, but tell me yes or no right now so I know if I'm wasting my time."

Kat smiled.

"We're not yet desperate enough to crumble to strong arm tactics, friend. If I was the suspicious sort, I'd want to know what's under your skin. You seem to be in a hurry for some reason. Running from some sort of trouble, maybe-but who isn't?

Me and Rain will talk it over.

If you wanna stick around until we've made a decision, that's fine. Otherwise, happy trails and long days, see you on the other side."

...

After he left-assuming he was still interested-Kat turned to Rain.


"So, what'd you think of him? You think we could use him on the trail?"

She paused to take a toothpick from the table holder, and twirled it in her teeth. One of her bad habits.

"...we got enough trouble feeding ourselves..." She says, with a resigned sigh. Kat hadn't made a decision yet. She needed to hear Rains idea on it.

[Zako]

Troy smiled and put down his cup, still half full.

"I'm in a hurry because for me, time is bullets, and if I don't get a job soon then my trip here was pointless. Still, I understand if you want to talk things over. I leave just after dawn. I'll wait at the gates for an hour and if you aren't there, then I'll leave with or without you.

Goodnight ladies."

He stood up and as he was about to leave the table, he tapped his half full cup.

"By the way, you might want to share this."

Go looking for a job.