As Cat walked away, she could hear a disturbance unfold. Near the campfire two men were talking in very aggressive tones. It was easy for her to hear them. It seemed to be a father and son, with the father lambasting the son for eating more than his share of the rations. While the son counters that the father hasn't actually [i]done[/i] any work himself besides maintaining the fire, something the girls could do, while he's been trying to scrap for wires in the metro. Most everyone was trying to ignore them save for a few who were watching carefully. Soon it devolved into a shouting match, where the son pushes the older man away and heads towards the exit, grabbing a bag and and a crudely made spear.

A young woman calls out for the man but he just shoulders his way out, heading towards the metro. The girl starts to cry, comforted by an older woman while the older man just looks bitter and angry. [b]"Lost another one."[/b] Cat would hear behind her. There was an older man, missing a hand and replaced with a knife he was sharpening with a stone. [b]"So close, yet so far. I don't recognize you. You must be the new lifer."[/b] After checking the edge of the knife, the man wraps the blade up and looks to Cat with an inquisitive look. [b]"Lemme guess. Came here because you heard rumors of this place accepting new immigrants. Running from your past or something. None of my business of course... But it's not as simple as just working hard and doing what you're told."[/b] The man points to the family who were huddling near the fireplace, some of the womanfolk still crying, and even the father was looking sad. [b]"They've been here longer than I have but still haven't gotten in yet. Food's getting scares now that there's more people working, more mouths to feed. And more workers means less scavenge around here... Won't be long till another incident happens."[/b] The man sighs as he looks down at his feet.

Then he smiles and looks back up to you. [b]"Names Wernher. I'm from Steelport, one of the few colonies that had a steel mill running. Up until it got taken over and I skipped town so I didn't become a slave. What's your name stranger?"[/b]

[hr]

[color=firebrick]"Stories huh?"[/color] Donny considered it. Gossip was a tradegood back at his old colony too. Information was vital, and even rumors had some grain of truth in them. The only reason his colony was so successful during raids wasn't just because they had guns, but because they had info too. Knowledge is power after all. He needed to know what to expect from Underhaven, and he didn't have anything else to give but some stories. [color=firebrick][i]"Well, it's not like I need to tell her the truth either. I can just bullshit her and see what she gives me. Can't believe everything she says either."[/i][/color] He still didn't trust her but Donny checked to see if anyone else was around before putting his things away and thinking of a story.

[color=firebrick]"Alright I got a story for you. I call it Jack and Shill. So back where I come from, there's a big guy named Jack. Strongest guy in the colony. He's a nice enough fellow though, but that doesn't mean he isn't a badass. He could fight mutants bear handed and once ran through a Cold Wave without getting too hurt. But Jack has a friend named Nim. Nim's not a tough guy, but he's a good liar. One day a beautiful woman comes to the colony named Aerie. She likes strong guys and Nim likes her. So he talks to Jack and convinces him to help make Nim look good in front of Aerie. Being the good friend he is, Jack decides to cause some trouble in the colony and when Aerie is scared that Jack is going to do something crazy, Nim comes by and stops him, beating him up and saving Aerie. The two get together. But when Nim goes to find Jack, he finds a letter from him instead. It said that Jack had to go now, so that Nim could be with Aerie and be the new strongest guy in the town. And that's how that story ends."[/color]

The tale was somewhat true, albeit bowdlerized for a child. In particular Aerie wasn't really that beautiful, she was just a whore and was looking for a strong man to protect her. And Jack [i]did[/i] go crazy because he also liked Aerie and wanted her for himself once he saw how she looked. Nim won his fight against Jack because Nim had a pocket pistol, and when Nim went to go finish off Jack, the tough guy had already managed to flee with some of his friends and abandoned the colony. Now they're just another bandit group bothering Valklin. Incidentally it was thanks to them that Donny was able to make a relatively clean escape from the colony. No one wanted to risk going after him while Jack and his boys were still on the prowl and Donny brought safe passage from them with some guns and bullets. But the kid didn't need to know all of that.