Outside the gates (Megaton)

Calvin shaded his eyes with one gloved hand, peering at the walls of scrap metal wavering in the hot air like a mirage. He hadn't passed through Megaton since...shit, he could barely remember. There had been a certain girl in town, pretty and surprisingly polite to walking corpses.

What was that cute young thing's name? Manya, yeah, that was it. I wouldn't mind shootin' the breeze with her for a bit if she's still hangin' around.

He took a limping step closer to the settlement, then stopped, wavering on his one good leg while he drummed his fingers on Lucinda's braincase. As always, he felt his desire for and fear of human contact wrestling in his gut. But he didn't have much choice this time, not with one leg practically shot off at the knee after his last run-in with a crazy gang of kids with mohawks. Dragging his gimp leg behind him through the wastes wasn't going to work for long, not if the tattered vultures circling high above were any hint.

"C'mon, Luce," he muttered to his Robobrain companion, wrapping an arm around her for support. She rolled forward on her treads and he shambled along beside, grimacing whenever he had to set weight on his leg.

They had finally made it to the shadows of the massive doors when Calvin's sharp eyes caught a twitch of movement. A man was standing on a catwalk high above the gates, pointing the business end of a rifle Calvin's way.

"What's your business, stranger?" The man's tone was not unfriendly, but it wasn't inviting, either.

Calvin pulled away the bandanna he hung across his mouth and nose to keep the dust out, and swept off his wide-brimmed hat. Even at this distance, Calvin could see the way the man's lip curled in disgust at the sight of his face.

"Just lookin' for a doctor to treat my leg and somewhere to waste a couple caps," he rasped back, quickly covering up again.

Some damn day I'll learn not to take it all so personal...Pssh, maybe when pigs fly.

A young girl sauntered up the path wearing a hunting rifle and a manic grin. She made a point to visit Megaton every few days to keep her name fresh in the minds of it's residents. In her line of work she needed every reference she could get, and despite the fact that most of the town's inhabitants thought she was out of her mind, she was going to make damn sure they knew she was crazy and efficient.

She slowed as she reached Calvin and threw him a nod before pushing her shady hat back and squinting up at the guard. Her eyes were dark and wild with smudges of charcoal under them to cut the glare, and her hair hung like a tattered, black curtain framing her face. She shifted the toothpick between her teeth before spitting it out and calling up to the man on the catwalk, "Don't worry about him Stockholm, he's alright."

The guard muttered something that was swept away in the wind before hollering back, "I'll be the judge of that, thanks." to which he added begrudgingly, "You go on in."

Her lip twitched into something that could be either a smile or a sneer and she grumbled to herself, "Bastard thinks he's hot shit." Languidly she began to amble her way towards the doors, glancing over her shoulder at the man and his robot. "Nice to meet you, by the way. If ya manage to get in, check out Doc Church down by the crater. You look like you might need him."

"What'll it be?" Calvin called up to Stockholm. After a tense moment the man jerked his gun toward the doors.

"Ahhh, go on. But keep your nose clean."

Har har. A gentleman and a comedian, Calvin thought, but hastened as best he could to follow the girl. Who knew if Mr. Hot Shit would change his mind and tell Calvin to get lost the moment she was out of sight?

"Thanks for vouchin' for me," he said, keeping a respectful distance. He was downwind, but you never knew when humans might take offense. Especially those of the female persuasion. "And for the info." He paused for a long moment. Her words were friendly, but her face didn't quite back them up. Still... Maybe it was the heat. Maybe it was the throb in his leg making him a little crazy. But for some reason he felt like taking a chance. "Nice to meet you, too, ma'am," he said, eyes on the dirt. "I'm Calvin. Uh, Cal."

Calico turned, her eyes glinting wickedly, and began making her way back to him while digging through a bag at her side. "Nothing to it." She paced around him a few times, taking her time to study him from every angle before stopping at his side. "Seriously? Cal?" chucking she offered her hands, one empty and open in greeting, the other holding a Stimpak "From one Cal to another; I'm Calico. Small fuckin' world, eh?"

Whirling around on her heel she started towards the doors again, "C'mon, I'll take you to the clinic, then if you're up for it I'll show you around town. Oh!" She stopped suddenly, snapping her fingers and gesturing to him, "If anyone asks, could you tell them you hired me as a body gua--" she cut herself off, frowning at the state of him, "Actually scratch that... No offense, but I don't want them to think your injuries are a reflection of my work. Just say you saw me kill something big and dangerous." Then she added without enthusiasm, almost as an after thought, "Please?"

Calvin tried not to fidget under Calico's scrutiny. He listened hard for the con or the tease in her words, but she seemed legit.

Well, you know the old saw about the gift horse... and Greeks bearin' gifts. But is there one about pretty smoothskins bearin' Stimpaks?

He just stared dumbly at the 'pak for a minute before gingerly taking it from her hand, careful not to even brush her fingers with his own, gloved or not. Before he could say so much as thank you she was on the move again, all aflutter with words and gestures. He jammed the Stimpak into his leg and hit the plunger, gritting his teeth against the achey tickle of the wound starting to close, and tried to keep up.

"That would be very kind of you, Miss Calico," he said. "It's been a long time since I've been to this place. Is there still a girl runnin' around here by the name of Manya? Maybe...hmm...ten or fifteen years your senior?" He chuckled, the sound strange to his own ears. "And don't worry, if anyone asks I'll tell 'em I saw you take down a Yao-guai and her mate at twenty paces."

"Killing is never the answer," Lucinda intoned in her synthesized female purr.

"Hush, Luce," Calvin hissed at her. "But are you sure I'm not imposin', ma'am?"

"God no. I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mind." Calico chirped, rearranging the contents of the bag at her hip. She snickered without looking up, "Yao-guai and her mate? I like that. I could do that, by the way... maybe. Probably." She shrugged as she finished her adjustments. Crossing her arms thoughtfully she tapped her chin, mulling over the question, "Hmm... as for Manya. Can't say I know her, but then I'm not great with names."

She couldn't help but wonder how long it had been since Calvin had been in Megaton. Judging by how the town treated the soul ghoul resident she guessed it was probably in better times. I hear time gets funny when you live so long... Giving him another quick glance she guessed he probably wasn't fresh, but it was so damn hard to tell with Ghouls. In her experience the only good way to judge a Ghoul's age was by their level of cynicism, and even that was skewed.

She shot Lucinda a skeptical glare as she reached the doors and shouldered them open. Megaton glittered in the midday sun like a shoddy gem in a cheap setting. The town was about as bustling as it could get, with most of the citizens milling lethargically between the shops and buildings. She stood at the top of the stairs, her arms propped self-righteously on her hips, and examined the town with a look of conspirital delight. "S'gonna be a good day." she murmured to herself before turning to face Calvin, "So, the Good Doctor's first? He'll be at the bottom of the crater... D'you think you can make it?" She gestured to the robot at his side, "Not sure that treads are so great on steps."

"Good point. Don't want to break my back repairin' the damn things again, either." Calvin turned to his robot companion (and makeshift crutch,) a severe look in his eyes. "You park it here for now, Lucinda. Don't get in any trouble."

"Very well," she answered. "I shall attempt to educate the deputy-bot about the error of his violent ways."

Calvin shook his head as he watched the Robobrain trundle back through the doors, and turned back to Calico. "She's a little touched, poor thing, but she wouldn't hurt a fly." He pulled his bandanna away and tucked it into his waistband, revealing a lopsided smile. "Guess that's the problem, actually."

He surveyed the town, his smile fading. Sure grown since I last stopped in... and the incline's steeper than I remember.

"The bottom of the crater, you say? No problem, miss Calico, no problem at all." He drew himself up to his full height, attempting an easy stride. He made it about three steps before his bum leg crumpled like tinfoil and he pitched forward, wheeling his arms for balance, the severe tumble ahead looming large.

(OOC: Ooh this is tricky territory. If it seems like I’m controlling him too much, let me know and I’ll rewrite it.)

Calico watched Lucinda leave with distain and began to turn away, “No ‘Miss’ here, doll. That robot of yours is some kinda myster—“ out of the corner of her eye she saw him stumble and was moving before she fully realized what was happening.

She darted forward and hooked her arms around him, her body sagging under his weight and for a brief, terrifying moment her feet slipped in the loose, dusty soil and she thought they’d both go tumbling down. She managed to catch her footing though and after a few deep, forced breaths she got him standing again. It wasn’t until she was sure she had a good hold on him that she started laughing. It started low and light and broke into peals of uproarious delight. As she repositioned herself on his weak side, making sure her gun wouldn’t bump his arm, the laughter petered out and she shook her head.

“Damn, but that wouldn’t have been a sight! I bet we could have made it to the bomb! Fuck, I can almost hear Cromwell laying into us now... You alright?” She giggled again and used her free hand to brush a stray black lock from her face.

OOC: No no, that was fine! After all, I totally set you up. As long as you don't have him start break dancing or stripping naked and yodeling or something.

When the fear passed, Calvin started laughing too, although his was an embarrrassed chuckle. "Wouldn't that be the perfect end to a perfect mornin'? Lucky one of us isn't a walkin' disaster."

He gingerly draped his arm across her shoulders for support, ready to move away at the first sign that he was making her uncomfortable. There was something a little surreal about how well this was all going, shot-up leg and nearly broken neck aside. A tiny part of him wondered if he hadn't just collapsed somewhere before getting to Megaton, and all of this was the fever dream of an old and sun-beaten brain.

If it was, he'd rather not wake up anyway.

He blinked. "I'm an idiot. Here I am talkin' about payin' some quack to stitch me up, when there's a damn bomb in the middle of the city! If I could just set my leg in the water for a spell, I'd be right as rain." He shook his head. "You'll have to excuse me Mi...er, Calico. Old Timer's disease, you know. Er, shall we?"

Lex was startled by the sudden burst of laughter. She adjusted the pack on her shoulders and continued walking. She would have been just fine walking around the odd pair, until she noticed that the guy was injured. That little nagging voice in the back of her head went into a battle royal with her better judgment for a moment.

The little nagging voice won...

"...You alright pal?" she asked cautiously. Obviously the girl was already helping him out, but as previously stated, the little voice had won. She stood there uncomfortably for a moment, hoping she hadn't crossed some line or something. She hadn't noticed until then that the injured guy was a ghoul. something in the silence made her regret her stubborn colloquialisms. "Call a ghoul 'pal' and get a funny look, you should know better Lex" She thought to herself bitterly. Despite her brooding thoughts, a warm, yet concerned smile remained on her face.

OOC: I apologize in advance for the quality of this post. It's 1am and I just finished a 7 hour DnD game (after 6 hours of work) so I'm not sure what I'm going to come up with, but I'm damn determined to write something before I go to bed.

"Heh... I'm just a different kind of disaster, is all." It was a strange sensation to support another person. Sure she worked for them, solved their problems (as long as the solution was killing the problem's source), and on the oddest of occasions provided a reluctant, sympathetic ear; but to help someone without pay or compensation, well that was a whole other story. She peered at him out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but smile genuinely.

"We shall."

It was slow going, as she expected it to be, but that was alright because it gave her a chance to think. What was that about water? Her nose wrinkled in confusion as she thought over his words. She had been doing a lot more thinking than usual lately. That wasn't to say her head was empty, but she relied so heavily on instinct it rarely occurred to her to consider anything but which gun to use. She was worried by how little she knew about ghouls.

They reached the bottom of the crater and she faltered. Looking between the clinic and the bomb and was about to ask what to do next when a strange voice cut her off. Her gaze fixed on the blonde beside her and her eyes narrowed unconsciously to vicious slits. Who was this girl and why was she trying to elbow her way in on her good deed? "I got it. Thanks." She hissed out the last word, an acidic smile splitting her face.

Calvin looked from one girl to the other and cleared his throat. Something was happening here, but damned if he could place what or why. Maybe some kind of woman thing? Over two centuries still wasn't enough time to figure those mysterious creatures out.

He nodded to Calico, gently withdrawing from her support, and smiled to the newcomer.

"I'm fine, ma'am, and bless you for askin'. Well, I'll be fine after a few minutes of soakin' this leg in that glowwater, anyway."

He hobbled the remaining steps to the greenish water, then looked back over his shoulder. "I'd suggest both of you hang back a ways. Wouldn't want anyone gettin' sick helpin' an old fool."

He sat ungracefully and lowered his leg into the water above the knee, marveling as always at the almost visible healing the radiation caused. He tipped his head back a little, listening for how the interaction between the two girls would unfold. There was something in Calico's face that had spooked him, although she'd been nothing but sweet to him.

Stupid little voice, more trouble than it was worth. The acid tone in the girl's voice made Lex recoil slightly. Or maybe it was the look in her eyes, she wasn't quite sure. What a dandy way to start off one of her rare visits into town. so much for low profile...

"Sorry, I didn't mean to pry or anything... " she trailed off. words weren't her strong suit, and the slightly manic smile spread across the girls face wasn't helping. At all. She floundered for a moment, looking for something to say. "Um... I'm Lex by the way. It was wicked nice of you to help that guy out. I know too many people who'd just've let him fall..." she added after a moment. times like these made Lex miss the quiet, desolate beauty of The Mountain.

She shifted her pack uneasily under the steely gaze of the other girl. Not a good start to the day, that was for sure.

(OOC: Gah! I'm failing at my own ooc rules. Sorry AmberGizmo for inadvertently dragging you to the bottom of the crater. It was the ill-begotten result of a sleep deprived mind. Word to the wise for everyone, don't post sleepy!)

It wasn't until she was sure Calvin was settled and secure that she returned her attention to the other woman. Scrutinizing her in silence while she spoke, Calico's expression shifted slowly from steely contempt to one of smug approval. "You're damn right it's nice."

Dammit Cali, watch the attitude around possible clients. You’re trying to look competent here! Forcing on what she hoped was a warm smile she tipped her head to one side and pulled out her best customer service voice. “Lex is it? So sorry for snapping, Dear. It’s just that I was so worried about my friend, there, I forgot myself.” She hoped it wasn't entirely obvious how much it was eating her up to play nice. She offered her hand, the only hint she wasn't genuine being the wild glint in her eyes and the fingers of her other hand crossed behind her back. It was a silly, childish gesture but it always made her feel better in these diplomatic situations.

"We good?"

OOC: it's ok, I'm new at text based roleplay and I think it's fun to see how other people interpret the scene.

Lex reluctantly shook the girls hand. Glad to have avoided an unnecessary conflict, but still wary of the stranger. The Ghoul seemed to be doing much better now that he was basking in the healing glow of radiation.

"Yeah, we're good. I don't believe I caught your name though." she answered releasing the other woman's hand lightly. she shifted her weight to the other foot and idly watched the denizens of Megaton shuffle to and fro. feeling a conversation coming on she pulled out her smokes and Zippo. Placing the cigarette in her mouth she ran the brass lighter up her pant leg to open it, then back down to light it. as the tip began to glow she held the pack towards her new acquaintance.

This close to a major radiation source, it didn't take long for Calvin's leg to mend. He got to his feet and flexed the knee--it seemed sound enough.

The tension seemed to have mostly gone out of the air. He took a few steps back toward the girls, although he still hung back a little. His little dip in the bombwater seemed to be attracting some stares, which was to be expected, but he felt more comfortable staying close to people who had been decent toward him.

Of course now that he wasn't wounded, their sympathy might run out. He wouldn't hold it against them, seeing as even a kind word or a smile was a rare treat.

Que sera sera.

With an exaggerated flourish Calico spread her arms, "Dear girl, you are speaking to the one, the only, Calico Borgia; freelance merc at your service. You've got a problem, I've got a solution." she tapped her hunting rifle lightly and leered predatorily, "You don't have any problems, do you? No target is too small! From Molerats to Mirelurks, Radroaches to Raiders. I'll kill it all. Hell, Calvin over there saw me take out two yao-guai from... What was it Cal? 20 yards? Yeah. Totally did it."

She made sure to speak loud enough that any and all settlers in the crater could hear her. This earned her a glare from Cromwell, who's sermon could barely be heard over her own and an apprehensive glance from Simms. Needless to say the Sheriff wasn't fond of the girl toting war in his town, but she'd never caused any real trouble so he let her be.

She waved off the cigarette as graciously as she could manage, "Read somewhere they're bad for you. Not that fighting for a living is exactly beneficial to my health, but I'd rather die in the field than a clinic bed. I'll stick to my whiskey, thank you. Speaking of which..." Pivoting on her heel suddenly she strode towards The Brass Lantern and leaned jauntily against the counter. "Two bowls of noodles and a double of whiskey!"

She was greeted with a dark scowl from Jenny, "You'll have to go in if you want a dri--"

"Fuck that then, I'll just take the noodles." Go in she says. Gotta go to Moriarty's anyway... hell at least Gob gives me discounts. Bitch. She settled herself on the stool and turned to face Lex, "So... Whad'ya say? Need anything shot?"

Noticing Calvin approaching her grin widened, "What about you, Spooky? This gun's for hire..." She trailed off in a sing song voice and twisted her head to one side, producing a sickening popping noise.

(OOC: I'm pretty new to this, so i'm working off my common sense, which i will admit there isn't much of! Let me know if i need to change anything!).

Jarek stepped through Megaton's gates and squinted in the bright sunlight.
It hadn't taken him quite as long as he anticipated to get here and he was feeling in a slightly better mood. Surprisingly, nothing had really bothered him on the journey over except a couple of mole rats which he soon took care of. He knew the area pretty well now and the safest route was mapped out in his head.
Still, he figured his luck probably wouldn't last.

Realizing he was pretty damn hungry, he trudged off down towards the bomb hoping to catch a seat outside the Brass Lantern and grab a quick bite to eat.
I hope Jenny has something decent on the menu today, he thought to himself.
Getting near the bottom he noticed a couple of woman talking, one of them with her fingers crossed behind her back.
What is that all about? He tried to suppress a small grin and shook his head. People just kept getting stranger.

Moving towards the Brass Lantern he noticed an empty stool and sat himself down, elbows leaning on the counter.
He really didn't feel like sitting inside today.
Jenny was busy, so whilst he was waiting he decided to look back over towards the two woman and noticed a ghoul standing up out of the irradiated water next to the bomb and walk towards the two woman.
Hm, never noticed him around before, he thought, idly, wondering what he was doing with the two he had just passed.
Suddenly one of the girl's voices raised and she spouted something about killing yao-guai, but Jarek wasn't really listening.
He realized he had seen her around before, although when exactly he couldn't quite recall. And the other girl with her seemed oddly familiar too.
Thinking about it, he was pretty sure he had seen them around Rivet City, but that was a pretty long time ago.

He sat back a little as the loud girl came striding over to the Brass Lantern and butted in just as Jenny was about to start serving him.
Jarek sighed inwardly. Typical, he thought. He considered saying something, but decided to best let it lie, he was too intrigued as to the conversation that was starting to unfold around him.

OOC: I know this seems sudden but I updated my character Bio, making Lex in her early forties it'll make sense eventually...

great she thought balefully another run and gun merc, tough as shit and brash as the day is long. A knowing smile tugged at her lips as she gave Calico the once over. with more than a hint of playful sarcasm, she lightly applauded the end of the show. it wasn't until she noticed the guy at the bar, watching "discretely" that she decided to play her little part as well.

"I appreciate the offer but I can handle myself. I've done my share of mercing too. God, could I tell you some stories..." she let the comment hang, dramatic tension was fun when there was an audience. tucking the lighter and the pack away, she took a drag from her smoke. "as for these being bad for you... what the hell isn't?"

to further play up the moment, Lex took a few steps closer to the Brass Lantern. Dropping her pack unceremoniously, she held her jaw in one hand lightly. twisting her head the opposite way produced an uncomfortably loud, hollow pop. throwing herself into the stool next to Calico, she leaned close with that knowing smile of hers. watching for any reaction from the "freelance merc", inspiration flashed through her mind like lightning.

"Want to compare scars?" she asked darkly, her smile twisting into a wicked grin.

Spooky? That's a new one for the collection. And I'd pop my neck, too, if I wasn't worried about poppin' my damn head right off.

He thought about answering Calico's question, but he expected she would be pretty swept up in whatever she had going with Lex. Instead, he took a peek at the new innocent bystander, some kid looking for a bite to eat at the Lantern. He looked like he'd been through some rough treatment, the kind of treatment that most people wouldn't live through to tell the tale.

He felt a pang of sympathy when Lex brought up scars, hoping the kid didn't feel too self conscious. Even being a smoothskin couldn't be easy when half of that skin was charred all to hell. Well, if he was bothered, maybe getting a good look at Calvin's own face would make him feel better about his own. He stepped into the shade of the Lantern's overhang, stopping an armslength from the kid. The waitress eyed him and and frowned, crossing her arms protectively across her chest.

"Afternoon," he said to the kid, softly so as not to attempt to talk over the girls. He tipped his hat, smiling, but once again avoided eye contact. "Mind tellin' me where I could find a drink around this place? I'm thinkin' the folks who run this place would rather I find myself I different den of iniquity to spend my evenin' at.

Jarek had been watching the two woman with some amusement.

A merc eh. Too much competition these days, he thought to himself.
Still, these two were providing some entertainment and distraction from the usual incessant ramblings of the Atom nutters. He wondered if they would start comparing kill counts and sizing each others muscles up next.

He barely hid a grin.

Well, if they wanted to put on a show all fair to them. Not his style though. He played it easy, took whatever came his way.
He leaned back a bit further and eyed them carefully. There was an older woman, she seemed to be playing up to the loud one, the hints of sarcasm amusing Jarek.
The loud girl had a strange look about her. Not your usual wasteland crazy kind of look, something that was almost a bit sinister. He'd seen that in people before and he wasn't sure he liked it much.
Jarek noticed the older woman glance at him and she upped her voice.
She could tell some stories eh, so can i, he thought, so can i.
His thoughts wandered slightly, thinking about his real reasons for being out here. I wonder if......
They were cut short when the other woman sat herself down near Jarek.
"Want to compare scars?" she said to the sinister looking girl.
Jarek grimaced. He briefly wondered if she said that for his benefit and absently ran a hand over the scarred and twisted skin on his left arm.

Just then he noticed a shadow looming over him. It was that ghoul fellow he had noticed before.
"Afternoon".
Jarek perked up. Turning around in his stool, a big friendly grin spread across his face.
"Afternoon, my good man" he said.
The ghoul fellow was asking him where to get a drink, but it pained Jarek slightly to notice he wouldn't look him in the face.
It had taken him many of his younger years to realize why, and why other people looked at him with disdain when they saw him talking with ghouls.
Still, he was so young at the time, there was a lot he had been naive about. Spending most of his life in the company of ghouls hadn't truly prepared him for the realities of bigotry, even though they had warned him about it.
"Well i would say Moriarty's place" said Jarek, slight venom creeping into his words at the thought of that bastard, "it's where most of the locals go and uh, I'm headed over there shortly, but to be honest you would probably want to avoid that piece of shit Moriarty. Just keep your guard up around him." he added, gesturing for the fellow to sit down if he wanted to and giving Jenny Stahl a sharp glance, silently challenging her to say anything.

She leaned back against the bar with her elbows propped up on it and let her head loll to one side as Lex spoke, watching the older woman with a mixed look of respect and disdain. Ooh she hates me... This could be fun.

Chuckling darkly she turned when she heard the bowls set down behind her. She pulled one towards her and slid the other down the bar towards Calvin without comment. It was nagging at her that she hadn't watched the girl make her food like she usually did; you never know what they could try to slip in there after all.

Letting that wave of paranoia pass she returned her attention to the other woman, "Oh I have no doubt you'd win that one. Y'see, if you do your job right," she speared her fork into the bowl and began twirling her food into a small ball, "and if you're careful, you don't get scars."

Sniffing her food suspiciously she gave Jenny a fleeting glare before taking a mouthful an continuing to speak around it, "Tha's not to say I don' have none. Hell, e'rybody makes mistakes." She swallowed and favored Lex with a sweet yet psychotic smile, "I'm just guessing you've got more."

Her grin faded back into that knowing smile as she leaned away from Calico. Lex decided to drop her act, enough attention for one day. with the strange gleam leaving her eye, she turned to Jenny.

"I'd like a pop if you please" she asked, ordering a Nuka-Cola. Those fucking colloquialisms, unyielding no matter how hard she tried to force them away. She sighed heavily, tracing the jagged, roping scar along her collarbone idly. She noticed that it had gotten quiet, they seemed to be waiting for her reply to Calico's challenge. Jenny placed the soda on the counter near her elbow, she handed over the caps and took another quick drag from her cigarette. Exhaling a cloud of smoke through her nose she thought of a good retort. she turned again to Calico, who had busied herself with eating.

"I haven't always been a merc, plenty of my scars come from the million and one other jobs I've had. Got this one here-" she pushed the sleeve of her hoodie down to expose some of her broad shoulder. A puckered scar about an inch around distorted the pale, freckled skin. there was a matching one on the other side. "-scavving out in Texas. The floor I was on gave way and I fell onto a piece of re-bar. Took me damn near all night to get free." she said with a laugh, returning the hoodie to it's former position. Some nameless passer by stopped for a moment at the mention of Texas, but quickly continued to wherever he was going. This sparked a question in her mind as she took another long look at the young merc.

"Have you ever left this "Capital Wasteland"?" She asked, her usual seriousness seeping into her tone. It genuinely surprised her that she'd never thought to ask anyone before. True, she had traveled over three thousand miles to get here, or anywhere for that matter, but she often forgot -or just didn't care- to ask if anyone else had. doubting she'd get an answer soon, she leaned farther onto the bar and gave the Ghoul a sidelong glance.

"I don't think I got your name pal." she said, not unkindly to the now less injured man.

Calvin nodded his thanks for the young man's information and his offer of a seat, and settled onto a stool just in time for a bowl of noodles to slide to a halt in front of him. Seeing them made him realize how hungry he was. When had he last stopped to eat, anyway? He smiled his thanks at Calico, but she was back on the attack again.

The girls continued their exchange and he set to making the noodles disappear. He had a particularly big mouthful when Lex's attention fell on him. He forced the wad of noodles down his throat with an audible gulp and tipped his hat to her.

"Calvin, ma'am, and it's a pleasure." He risked a glance into her eyes. They were kind. The familiar tightness he always held in his belly began to relax, just a little. He stood up, for once inviting attention instead of shrinking from it, and took off his hat, holding it in front of him with both hands.

"Listen, all three of you have treated me like a plain old human being this mornin', and I want you to know that I really do appreciate it. I'd like to extend the offer to buy all of you a drink up at," he looked to the young man for confirmation, "Moriarty's, I guess, whenever you're, uh, done here." He sat back down and fidgeted the fork through his noodles. If it were possible, he'd be blushing fire hydrant red at his boldness. "Don't worry about bruisin' my feelings if you're not interested, though," he mumbled. "Just an offer."

"That's wicked nice of you Calvin, I just might have to take you up on that offer." Lex replied with a warm smile. She ran a nervous hand through her wavy hair, she wasn't the most comfortable in the social scene. Having finished her last cigarette only minutes ago, she let out a stern mental 'fuck it' and lit another. It was a strange and mildly surprising day for Lex. Of all the things that could have happened, she found herself in the company of a nice enough Ghoul, a slightly disturbing merc half her age, and a guy who just moments before had been staring at her as she played up a silly conversation. With a wry laugh, she took another swig of her soda.

"But to tell the truth, while booze does sound inviting, I'd die for a half decent cup of coffee... like the kind my dad used to make. Now he could brew a mean pot of coffee." Lex sighed heavily, she hadn't thought about her dad in a long time. Not since the raiders anyway. Luckily there seemed to be a break in the conversation. She relished the silence, words were fickle things and often untrue. Lex could imagine that Calvin appreciated this, he seemed the type. Probably not Calico, she seemed rather talkative, if a bit spacey at times. She had no opinions of the rather stoic boy at the end of the bar, though she was pretty sure he'd agree with her.

Still waiting for an answer from Calico, she took another pensive drag from her cigarette. However strange, they day was certainly turning interesting.