Welcome to Gaia! ::

America had been in the process between deciding between running, fighting, working, requesting a mission, or seeing if Taym had gotten his energy back. She was restless, but not quite frantic with it, and the desire to fill her hours with action and movement had yet to override common sense. She was leaning toward the first option when the clatter at her door startled her into reflexive caution.

Peeking through the window she saw the cause, and hardly a second went by before America was opening the door, drawling incredulously, "Why bless your heart, honey, are you okay?"

"Oh here, let me get that for you," bemused and a touch concerned, America reached out to take part of the burden. "Come on in, and leave your shoes on the mat, hun. Just cleaned the floors this morning." And they were indeed clean, wood shining warmly underfoot as the girl led him through the parlor and into the kitchen, talking all the while.

"I haven't see you round here before, and I'dve taken note of a big fellow like yourself. Did you just wake up?"

The man stench was noted but went unremarked, beyond a passing thought that Rep would likely enjoy this fellow's company. The kitchen was bright and comfortable, miles away from the lab building and dorm basement. "Take a seat, you want anything to drink?" The girl was already at the fridge, "I got sodas and lemonade, beer too, but those aren't how you start a shift in here in town. What should I call you, by the by?"

Bending down, she grabbed a small cooler out of the cupboard and placed a few bottles of root beer in that instead before returning to the table. Beaming happily at him, she held out a hand. "Well, Dawson Grace, you came to the right house. I'm America Jones, and I'm one of the folks heading the Town Cleanup. We got lots of work to do. So you just sit tight, and I'll get ready to give you a bit of a tour."

Pleased laughter filled the room, and America slapped his arm, "We're gonna get along just fine, I can already tell. I'm gonna change right quick, but I'll only be a few minutes, no worries. I'll explain about the town once we're walking, but if you change your mind about the drink, help yourself!"

With a cheerful bounce in her step, the girl ran off and up the stairs. Sure enough, it was only a couple minutes before she was back, having exchanged her cutoffs and tank top for...cutoffs and a tank top (though the latter was fairly worn and liberally spattered with paint.) Work boots and gloves had been obtained as well, and in a few moments, the cooler with the soda had gained several snacks and energy bars.

"Alright, I'm ready to head out," she announced, handing him a second pair of gloves. "You won't need to bring those supplies, though. Plenty where we're going, fella." Leading Dawson out, she locked the door and hopped off the porch, not bothering with the steps. "So how long've you been out the pod?"

"Well aren't you getting put to work right off! Most folks take a bit to settle in, get their bearings n'such." America turned a grin at him with approval and then gestured widely to the town, a bounce in her step. "It's just the town, maybe we'll name it someday, but right now it's the only one about so nobody's bothered. Now this neighborhood," she spun to indicate the little cul-de-sac, "is Peach Tree Lane, because I said so."

There was in fact a little street sign on the end, hand painted and still looking fresh even after recent storms. "Right now this is a finished neighborhood. We got shadow critters cleared out, and all the houses are fixed and livable. Nice, even, where we has the time and materials. This and the Red Bull on the other side of town are our two starting fix up areas and the two best to move into right now. But we're working on the rest."

The contrast between Peach Tree and the next neighbors over was stark, normal everyday vs abandoned disasters. Signs of clean up showed nearly everywhere though, a few houses looking normal and a few more in the process of being torn down. There were many little lots that peppered the areas, indicating more than a few places had been unsalvagable.

"The Red Bull, by the by, is a bar run by a Scottish fellow and his husband. They may seem a bit rough and ready, but they're folks who will look out for you if you have need. The bar's pretty new too, so be sure to visit and help break it in."

America had a way of walking when she was in good spirits and excited. With an excess of energy and motion, she was series of small skips and half spins and dancing steps. She would move ahead and then circle around and make quick detours towards things that caught her attention, things she'd like to point out and show off or speculate over.

With a chagrined smile, America finally settled in to just walk next to him, arms crossed behind her head as she explained, "Got trampled a few times from what I've hear. Something about giant pony monsters squatting here for years, n' then a big ol' stompy dragon? Titans n' a Phoenix of some sort too. It's been quiet the past year or so, though," she reassured him.

"Mostly though, I think the big problem is that it was abandoned for so long. You can fix things well enough after a hurricane, you know? But if you wait a good ten years, things're gonna be a helluva lot harder on everyone."

They approached what was undoubtedly a school, its windows dark and empty. "Right now, this is what I've been focusing on. We don't have kids here right now, but there's offices n' classrooms that would help folks with the part of work that doesn't involve fighting beasties n' nightmares."