Outside the gates (Megaton)

Jarek smiled as the stranger sat down and turned his attention to finally getting something to eat.
"Just some noodles please Jenny" he said.
Looking back to the strangers at his side, he was surprised when the ghoul fellow stood up and expressed his thanks.
"Well," he said, breaking the brief silence after the woman had spoken. He understood the heavy expression that crossed her face and he didn't like to dwell on the moment. "No thanks needed, but I might as well take you up on your offer once I've finished this" he said, gesturing towards the noodles he'd just started to eat, a small smile on his face.
"If there are no objections of course" he said, glancing towards the two woman.
Jarek didn't think he would get away with his usual quiet reverie for too much longer, so he figured he might as well join in the conversation. He was starting to get more and more intrigued by these three and wanted to know a little more.

She studied the scar with detached curiosity, listening to the story behind it with half her mind, and imagining it with the rest. She had always been blessed with uncanny luck and thus had only once ever truly feared for her life. That was a story she refused to think about, let alone tell. The question that followed startled her from her thoughts and she snapped her eyes away from Lex, her jaw set.

Poking at her food without relish she listened to the others chat. No, she'd never left the Capitol Wastes. Did that discredit her in some way? Stick to what you know. It was something her mother had always told her. Hell, it was her own misinterpretation of those words that put her on this path of guns in the first place. She knew how to fight, and she knew how to kill. Why should she waste her time trailing behind an armor merchant when there were people out there who needed someone with the skills and the spine to keep them alive? Excluding the fact that she only helped the downtrodden who could afford to pay her, she felt she was doing a great service to the DC inhabitants.

She had just about worked up a retort when Calvin stood. As he spoke the deviant glint left her eyes for the first time and her cocky grin faded until only an appreciative smile remained. It was well a established fact in Calico's world that people did not like her. Often even those she worked with ended up resenting her more than the people she had been hired to deal with. To receive a genuine invitation to sit and socialize with another person was a refreshing change.

"That'd be tops, Cal."

She returned her attention to Lex, her mood and demeanor significantly improved, "No I haven't... not yet anyway."

The answer somehow failed to surprise her, yet she smiled at the girl.

"I thought not, but you're still young, got plenty of time to discover America for yourself. If you ever make it further out west I think you'll be pleasently surprised." she replied with the tiniest hint of homesickness. Leaving Calico to mull over her words, she turned her attention to the kid.

"Who am I to object? I've only just met all of you." she said, leaning sideways on the bar to get a better look at him. Finally getting a good look at his left side she paled, no wonder he'd buttoned up at the mention of scars. To late to fix it now, if he had a problem he'd take it up with her later, thay always did. Still, she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for bringing it up so blatantly. She flashed him a wide smile, causing her eyes to scrunch up and the crow's feet to deepen around them. Lex could actually feel how crooked the smile was because of that old, old scar. it was nice to finally hear him speak, introspection may work for her, but it truly pained her to see kids so fucked up that they shied away from their own kind. A hoarse laugh escaped her, that suddenly sounded all to familiar.

Calvin polished off his noodles in silence, content to bask in the glow of being tolerated--welcomed, even. As for traveling the country, well, he'd done that and a half through the decades. He had a fair share of stories, too, but he was pretty sure that no kids--and to Calvin, just about everyone left on Earth was just a kid--would be interested in an old zombie's war stories.

Damn, he thought. I really could be the oldest fart in the whole world. Ain't been through Underworld or any of the ghoul settlements in a dog's age, so who knows which of other the pre-war wonders have dropped off by now? Some of the oldest ghouls succumbed to rot and age. A lot went feral. And more than a few decided they'd seen enough and ate a bullet.

Calvin had thought about it more than once. Had gone so far as to get to second base with his shotgun before Lucinda had launched into one of her speeches about how precious life was and he decided he couldn't leave her to get torn to scrap. Remembering it turned Calvin's mood a little darker, and he leaned more heavily on the counter.

I could really use that drink.

Jarek grinned at the woman.
There was something about her he liked.
Well, he thought to himself, not often you come across more than one amiable person in this place and she seemed genuine enough, as did the ghoul fellow. He figured from the way her facial expression changed ever so slightly once she had a good look at him that nothing was meant by the scars remark.
I need to stop being paranoid he thought to himself.
The day seemed to be unfolding in a very interesting manner all the same. Not often he fell into conversation and offers of drinks with a bunch of strangers.
Still, the other girl with the sinister smile still didn't seem too friendly, but then why should she be, he figured.

He stood up after finishing off his noodles and looked at the strangers again.
"Well that's good to hear, I'm heading on over there now so...uh, the names Jarek by the way, pleased to meet you...."

I could really do with a strong drink right now he thought. I need to catch up with Gob, besides. But damn, Jarek wasn't used to being all that sociable.

He looked at them, a slight smile on his face.

Ah well, he had the feeling they might be worth getting to know, they just might be the help he was looking for.
Hell, the merc girl certainly looked crazy enough and she had mentioned she was for hire...

(OOC: Should we say we all make it to Moriarty's without incident and continue there?)

Standing and stretching languidly, Calico reached into the pouch at her side and tossed some caps to Jenny.

"Alright. Let's blow this noodle stand and go somewhere a little more comfortable." She shot the waitress another half-hearted glare before turning to study the town appraisingly. "Hey Cal, you think you're good to navigate difficult terrain?"

It appeared that the odd assembly was about to move. Having enjoyed the conversation so far, Lex decided to go along with it. She polished off her soda and hopped up off the bar stool. A stab of pain shot up from her ankle, but she ignored it, though she'd have to re-wrap the sprain later. As she scanned the strange group, half whispered words from her long dead father drifted through her mind.

"Don't tell anyone about your intelligence, it could intimidate them. Keep your mouth shut, but your eyes and ears open. Listen and learn kiddo, and if you wrong someone -no matter how small it might be- you apologize. I'd like to know, on my deathbed, that I raised a decent human being for a daughter." It had been years since that memory last surfaced. She subtly moved her hand in a strange kind of wave, to her it was almost like crossing herself. With a mental groan, she took a few steps closer to Jerek. Lowering her voice, she went to make her peace.

"Sorry about the scar remark Pal, I didn't know..." with a quirky smile she rubbed the thick coat of dust from her face. Revealing not only a thick band of freckles across her nose, but also a winding, faded scar across her face. The tail end of which cut across the left side of her mouth, making any smile crooked. She knew it would never equal the damage done to that poor boy, but hoped it would make the point that she could see where he was coming from. Unlike the rest of her collection, this scar had been -and still was- the only lasting reminder of one horrible night on The Mountain. The night the Raiders came and destroyed her safe little world. That had been almost thirty years ago, and the pain, like the scar, was faded.

But it would always be there.

(OOC: Yep, I'm ready to move. Look out, Khasen, here we come!)

He scanned the walls of the crater with its rickety shacks and saw the large sign proclaiming the location of Moriarty's Saloon. "I should be fine. Leg's feelin' good and strong, now."

(OOC: Sounds good to me)

Jarek was taken aback by the woman's apology.
This is a first, he thought. Someone was actually thinking about how he might feel and she'd not even directed the offending comment to him anyway, never mind barely knowing him.
He found himself slightly lost for words.
"No problem," he said, stammering slightly in his surprise."I guess i just don't like to be reminded, y'know....but, you didn't offend me or anything, honestly."

He studied her face, noticing the scar there and the look in her eyes. He guessed she might know what he meant and wondered how she got the scar in the first place.
Looking at her, Jarek let out a small chuckle. "Y'know what, I'll buy the second round", he said as he smiled and started on his way up to Moriarty's.

"Well alright then." she said with a broad grin "Hey, I'll cover the third if you can stand my company for that long." It was the first time in a long time that she actually felt comfortable around other people. The trio that she found herself with hadn't once called her "Ma" or "Granny" which made them good people in her books. All to often, these upstart young punks thought it would be hi-fucking-larious to point out that she was creeping ever closer to fifty. Though in the company of Calvin, she could hardly complain about age. Lex was pretty sure he'd been around twice, maybe three times as long as she had.

Following his lead, she started up towards the bar.