Welcome to Gaia! ::

Emma had been asleep up until the point the muffler fell off. The sudden stop had wakened her from the nightmares of the last several days. She spent the time that Michael used fixing the muffler to recover from the dreams while looking for any possible dangers. Sitting in one spot made her nervous and put her on high alert. It was not until Michael returned to the car and they began moving again that she finally began to relax again.

Realizing that Michael had spoken to her about the start, she smiled politely at him and said " oh, that's alright. I am just glad you got us moving again." His second question had got her thinking about her past. She was happy that Liona had answered first as this had given her a chance to put her thoughts in order. "Oh, I was in college too. I was going to nursing school" She replied. " I started out in a suburb in Texas. I'll tell you, this has been a wild journey" She finished glad for the conversation.

"Cool, cool." Michael nodded, satisfied with both contributions his question. "Looks like we ain't so different, eh, Liona? Cars need people to make sure they drive nice'n smooth. Same with shows, right?" He chuckled to himself before looking over his shoulder at Emma. "And med school, eh? Glad to have you onboard. Hopefully, you weren't like me in my college days and partying most of the time." Michael laughed. He didn't need to study anyways; there wasn't anything they taught him that his dad didn't beat them too.

Michael grinned at Sandy's offering of her emergency money. "Gee, thanks, kiddo. that's real nice of ya." He held out his hand, and put the bill in the pocket of his coveralls after Sandy gave it to him. This though, didn't really make him all that happy. They weren't in trouble, but they definitely weren't out of it. On top of that, this bill had sentimental value now. Looks like the bill was their emergency money too; he wasn't using it until they absolutely had to. At Sandy's response, he nodded again. "Sucky. Well, we're going to where good things happen, so don't you worry about stuff. Leave it to the grown-ups. We'll try and take the safe roads on the way there."

At this point, Michael realized his nodding wasn't acknowledgement, but him getting sleepy. It had been a long day, confirmed by Sandy nodding off to sleep herself in his lap. He looked out the window and managed to catch sight of a sign. "Amish Country, 50 miles." He mumbled. "Yo, you guys. Won't be much to scavenge out in the sticks I don't think. How 'bout we take it easy once we roll into town?"

Emma smiled at Michael's response to her going to nursing school. "Yeah, I mostly know first aide and a few other basic things. I learned real quick, you gotta pay attention in med. school. Survival is in the details."

" Yep Texas" Emma responded to Liona. " Aye. I have come along way, but you have traveled even further.... unless y'all talking Washington D.C. and not Washington State. "

When Emma caught sight of the twenty dollars being pulled out of the child's shoe she could not help but think on how the things that used to be worth so much are practically useless now, but she kept her thoughts to herself wanting let the young girl think that she was helping in the only way that she could. " I bet your daddy would be proud that you held on to that for so long" Emma said instead.

Emma could not help but laugh at Liona's remark about the dates. The laughter had surprised her, she had not laughed in a long time. " We could probably use some rest and a chance to get out and walk around a bit. We certainly have been drivin' for awhile. "

Michael stretched contentedly as he stood on the porch, glad to be out of the rain and glad to have gotten a nap during the ride. Day 2 of the end of the world and he was doing alright. The same went for the rest of the people here. Might need a BBQ or something to get some grins on their faces, but better to be a little down than downed. "Heh, downed." Michael chuckled to himself. Friggin' puns. Was that even a pun, actually? Whatever, a funny was a funny, punny or not.

He took a deep breath. Country air tasted 100x better than city air, even if you loved the smell of car exhaust in the morning. Looking around, he wished he could say the same about looks though; city was dreary, and looks like the sticks weren't so different today. Michael glanced over at Liona. "Yo, I know you said it might be good to take a look around, and I know you ain't stupid, but s'rainin'. You can probably figure out the rest of what I'm gonna say." Michael jerked a thumb toward the trading post the other survivors had set up. "I'm gonna do a little window shoppin' what with our junk-a** ex-muffler and junk."

Michael ruffled Sandy's hair to get her attention. "Come on, kiddo, let's go and see if we can get something cool." After a happy nod, Michael took her hand in his and made for the trading post.

CHOICE: TRADE

Michael furrowed his brow as he looked over the small assortment of goods the post had laid out. They didn't need anything here at the moment, and buying something they didn't need with what little money they had at the moment was just plain dumb. He flashed an apologetic smile at the people running the post. "Sorry, folks, don't need anything that you guys have." They needed a muffler, or some wicked car upgrade, but a muffler was probably better unless the wicked upgrade came with some kind of wicked engine-silencing or something.

The duo turned and began to walk away as Sandy frowned. "No cool stuff?" He shook his head.

"Not today, kiddo. But there should be some cool stuff next time."

CHOICE: NOTHING

(((Trying to get back into the habit of putting that at the bottom. sweatdrop )))

Emma

The man gazed at the young woman from behind his horn rimmed glasses. He had a very rugged appearance and rather unkempt dark hair and stubble. His long brown trench coat was well-worn and still dripping from being out in the rain.

"That's not much of an introduction, darlin'," he said with a grin before giving a dismissive wave of his hand, "The name's Quentin Romero an' yeah, I've seen hell on earth since this garbage started and picked up a few tricks."


Skill Options

Auto Afficianado - While Scavenging, you are guaranteed to find a minimum of 2 Scrap. 40$
Gun Expert - You reload your weapon(s) twice as fast. 60$

Somehow the girl had been the ticket into the place. Liona still didn't trust that the girl wasn't just another liability, but she had to admit that Sandy wasn't all dead weight. It wasn't that she hated kids or had anything against the girl. It was more so a result of her own upbringing and fragmented sense of familial bonds. Liona had yet to have a problem keeping others at a distance.

It surprised her to see the remains of the town, burned down and decrepit. She could only guess that the buildings were levelled out of accident from a fight, or that they were burned down on purpose to aid the lookout against the undead. But what remained could still be marvelled, like the fresh air of the open country and the green of the hills. Liona always enjoyed the art of city lights as she looked down upon them from skyscrapers, but she could never deny that the country held its own charm. Too bad Michael had to ruin it. She rolled her eyes at him, deciding that he was only being petty. How could she have guessed it would be pouring by the time they reached their next stop? Had she been in a better mood, she might have given him a noogie.

She made no move even as she watched the others leave to the trading post and the combat trainer's place. Liona herself had no plans to leave the station wagon herself. The only thing left to do was scavenge, and as Michael had pointed out, it would have been foolish to risk it in the current weather. Besides, someone had to watch their vehicle, and Liona was not enthusiastic about travelling on foot to their next destination should something happen to their ride. It was so that she returned to the driver's seat and passed the time by perusing the contents of the glove compartment by the passenger's seat.

CHOICE: WAIT

She actually dozed off by the time Michael returned. It was a dreamless sleep though, as it was with all of her naps, which had been all she'd been able to manage with their pace of travels. It hadn't been wise to sit still for too long in one location, but the lack of sleep was taking a toll on her body. When she was aroused by Michael's voice in the distance, she slowly straightened in the driver's seat and rubbed at her eyes, wondering the entire time how the man could remain so peppy at a time like this.

She listened to his suggestions and her mood instantly lifted. She supposed it wouldn't be so bad to enjoy some country air before the fallout or whatever reached this area too. "My pleasure." She stepped out of the vehicle and reached a pair of interlaced fingers towards the sky to give herself a short stretch before setting out to find Emma.

She found the general location of the trainer by asking a few folks along the way, and based on their replies learned that it was the same technique Emma had used. Guess great minds think alike? But if the woman was in the area, Liona didn't spot her. She thought about searching her out, but ran into the trainer first.

"Why, hello there," Liona started in a sultry voice, but the seduction really went both ways. There was something irresistible about a man who looked like he'd been through hell and back. This man was not too hard on the eyes either, and his glasses seemed to give way to deeper intellect than one might expect from just his rugged form. "So I've heard you're a real magician, is that right?"

CHOICE: COMBAT TRAINER + SWEET TALK