Mattie felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise at the tone of the man's voice, but she responded with only a quiet nod. There'd be no use arguing; even if it didn't escalate to something dangerous, it might mean the loss of an ally. She didn't know how useful he'd be yet, but she'd just have to weather it. Hardware store, convenience store. Hmm. She doubted that they'd be unlooted, but perhaps the hardware store would have been overlooked for more immediate needs like food and water. 

The man's introduction came out of nowhere, and the name Nicholas took Mattie by surprise. Her eyes widened for just a moment but her expression was quickly back to normal. There was just something about the name [i]Nick.[/i] Through her whole childhood, every time she'd heard the name or met someone called that, it had given her the strangest, deja-vu feeling. She'd always hated it. But this time, it felt different–– there was still a deja-vu feeling but it wasn't the same. Somehow. Maybe it was that Nicholas looked like he was feeling something similar. 

"My name's Mattie," she finally said, reaching out and shaking his hand. "Um...nice to meet you."