Arianna was disappointed. The kind of things she needed, the technical things, they just weren’t here. She’d found stuff at Moira’s before, but not today. No, today would be her loss this time, the materials that would help get her lab started just weren’t present. There were a small number of microfusion cells and small energy cells, but not enough to help power a force-field system--and that was a must if she was going to be housing feral ghouls. As she looked the shelves up and down, she noticed that the man who’d opened the door for her was leaving. A crossbow of some sort, she saw, was slung over his back. [i]Interesting[/i] she thought to herself. [i]Not often you see that kind of weapon around here.[/i] Which, of course, she found rather odd because it wouldn’t be much trouble to make a crossbow. Or a regular bow, really. But then, with the availability of guns, most didn’t want to bother with it. He seemed nice enough, she decided. But the girl with the gas-mask, on the other hand….

She was something else. The scars lining the part of her face that she could see, along her arms, the...air about her. The fact she was wearing a gas mask in the first place...the woman made Ari feel very uncomfortable. She’d almost rather see an Enclave assassin walk into the store, looking for her. Shuddering as the woman left the store, Ari readjusted the Plasma rifle once more--the damn strap kept creeping closer and closer to the edge of her shoulder. [i]Fucking thing,[/i] she thought bitterly, and immediately regretted it. It was about all she had of her sister now, besides the ribbon and dogtags. She turned to face Moira who was busy sweeping the area around the counter. [b]”Didn’t have what I was looking for this time. I’m going to head out, take care of yourself okay? And good luck with that project!”[/b]

[b]”Sorry you didn’t find what you were looking for! You take care of yourself too, dear, and maybe next time you’re passing through I’ll have something to interest you.”[/b] Moira exclaimed with her usual ecstatic fervor. A smile once more crossed Ari’s lips, and she gave Moira, the closest thing she had to a friend, a quick hug before heading out the door. As the bright sun (though now just beginning to set) beamed her eyes, she squinted--and noticed the same man from before staring over the railing down at the Children of the Atom, preaching their chilling, dangerous words. Ari seriously wondered if one day she’d see a rising mushroom cloud on the horizon, when the Children decided to finally see Atom’s Glow for themselves. 

Shaking her head to clear those thoughts, she then noticed the other girl, a blonde haired girl with dreadlocks who looked...well, pretty damn tough, asking if this “seat” was taken. Another new face too. [i]What is it with new people in town today,[/i] she wondered to herself. She noticed the girl carrying a leather jacket...but something was slightly different about it. For one, it had two sleeves instead of one, which was the common wasteland fashion. For two, there was a giant serpent on the back. It was definitely not your average leather jacket. Ari might’ve just walked on by towards Moriarty’s Saloon then, but she noticed the girl with the gas-mask treading slowly up the stairs towards the place. So instead, she walked over to the man who’d been so nice to her, as to open the door for her--a rarity in the wastelands. 

[b]”Hey,”[/b] Ari said softly, brushing a strand of her own golden hair from her bright blue eyes, [b]”I’d be careful if I were you. Some of these rails can be loose--and the last thing you want is to end up close to THAT crowd,”[/b] Ari indicated the Children of the Atom far below, shaking her head. [b]”Presuming you survived the fall, anyway. Names Arianna, by the way. Thanks for earlier...not often you see someone with manners these days.”[/b]