Chapter 2 - Purewater Rising - Civilization at last?

"Wait, Deloria!" Christine called, "We shouldn't split up!" Well... he wouldn't listen to that argument. Since when has he ever listened to her say he shouldn't do something? "Cecil! How are you going to look after us if you go off on your own? What would Skrub say?"

Kat twirled a lock of hair--or something-- between her fingers, pausing only to raise her eyebrows at Amber's question. "Er. A what-now? Hazel's been with me longer than I remember. So from my daddy, most like." She studied the little blonde chick for a breath longer, wondering if the girl's question had actually answered hers, before turning to the group as a whole--minus Cecil.

"Aight, well, you don't need him right now anyways. I know this town inside, out, and then some. Providin' you're stickin' around longer than this very night, what can I show ya?" Her grin is genuine this time, if not still a little bit sharp at the edges.

Amber tilts her head. "Your...father? Was he from a vault?" She asks, puzzled. "Where did your vault tech come from?" She gestures to the device she was working on.

The next question throws her off. What...did they need? Her eyes go wide as Christine verbally pushes her forward. "I-I don't... We, um." She stutters. She notices Cecil vanishing into the crowd as she spins around looking for an authority figure. "Bunnie?" She squeaks out, taking a step back.

Kat blinks at Amber's continued questions. "You're sure obsessed with vaults, aren'tcha? Nah, I don't know how far back my folks came outta one of those locked holes in the ground. Scavenged this, I did," she says proudly.

After listening for an answer to her own question, she winces a bit at the odd game of back-and-forth that seems to be going on. "Aight. Well, I don't know nothin' about combobblenators, but Purewater's knocked to the brim with tinkerers who probably do. Thing is, unless you got big cash, you're gonna need goods to trade." Her lips twist wryly. "You lot don't look like trappers or looters, so be straight with me, yeah? Got any pokemon or knick-knacks you can bring to the table so I don't look like a witless chump if I take ya over to Emilia or Mahoney?"

Amber's eyes light up at Bunnie's words finally click. Oh, they wanted to know specific vault needs? /That/ she could help with, but it hadn't occurred to her that this place might actually /have/ anything like that. She considers Kat's words, biting her lip. "I have...well, I haven't actually let it out of the weapon--I mean, um, the Poke-ee-ball. But there was a, um.." She stutters out, before finally giving up and pulling up the Sneasel's entry on her wrist device. She holds out her hand to show the picture. "I have this. I don't...I don't think I want to keep it near us. You said...your tinkers, they accept these in trade?"

She thinks for a moment. "I also have some tech that I was going to keep for the vault...I think there was a solar cell in the bunch. Would your tinkers be interested?"

A decision having been reached, Kat easily leads the small group through the streets, past the cobbled-together buildings consisting of equal parts natural stone that appears to have been shaped, similarly to the exterior walls, and metal that was likely scavenged from whatever nearby supplies were available. You do notice that the closer you get to the plant, the more defensive in nature the buildings seem to be, as well as becoming rougher in construction.

Finally, Kat leads you to a squat, heavily fortified building, with the words "Barracks/Armory" chiseled into the stone that makes up most of its exterior. The windows it has as thin, and barred, leaving no egress but for the main door. As you approach, a man a few years younger than you exits, trailed by... a floating rock with hands and eyes? Yes, the rough-skinned creature does appear to be floating slightly, following at the heels of the dispirited looking young man. The teen himself is thin and gangly, his dark... blue? Yes, his hair is an extremely dark shade of blue, flopping into his face as he slumps into the street, heading in the opposite direction



Entering, you all find an attractive young blond woman scowling slightly as she works on some paperwork. The scowl deepens for a moment when she sees Kat walk in, but is wiped off her face for a professional smile as she spots the rest of the party. "Oh, hello. This is the Purewater Guard armory and offices. Is there something I can help you with, or are you here to report an issue?" Her eyes slid over to Kat for a moment when she said the last.

The woman's professional smile turns brittle and sharp as shards of glass as she regards Kat. "Have those boys been telling tales? I'll have to set the record straight when my shift is over then.

She shoots a swift incredulous look at Amber when Kat mentions taking her to see Adrian. "Well that's just lovely I'm sure he'd be happy to help such a cute little girl out." Her voice is tooth-achingly sweet.

"Well, if they've got some items for the Commander, I can see if she's able to take a look, but it's unlikely, the woman's schedule is simply packed you know," she continues in the same tone. A brief, but meaningful clearing of the throat from behind and to the left of her however, causes her to freeze, a flicker of panic skittering across her face before the pleasant mask is firmly back in place.

A tall, muscular woman with heavily tanned skin and thick black hair bound in a ponytail is leaning in the door frame, looking decidedly unamused. Perched on her shoulder is a small white, black and yellow-furred rodent with flaps of skin between its limbs, and patches on its cheeks very similar to Amber's Pichu. It on the other hand looks highly amused, small arcs of current twitching over its cheeks as it giggles. "I seem to have had some time open in my busy schedule Miss Perks. Ladies, young man, please follow me to my office." She beckons you all into a decently sized room, with enough chairs to seat everyone. As soon as the door is closed, she gives Kat a fond, but exasperated glare.

"Really Kat, I know the two of you don't get along, but please don't provoke her. I have a hard enough time getting her to do her work instead of foisting it off on some other cadet thinking with his dick when she's in a decent mood, when it turns sour it's all I can do to not have Joules put a few thousand volts into her." The little rodent preens as she scratches him along the tops of his ears, before the woman turns her attention to the Vault dwellers. "Now, my name is Emila Guitteriaz, head of this settlement's security. what can I do for you all?"

While the new people seem distracted with each other, Christine sidles over to Amber, and whispers "Stop mentioning home. Skrub wants it to stay safe and hidden... Okay?"

When they entered, obviously the new woman and their...guide...had some history, so she let that play out. When asked what they were here for, she replies, "Miss Kator... Kat here mentioned that you might be interested in one of our... creatures that we acquired in our travels." She almost called them bioweapons, but that might not have been common knowledge out here. Certainly it wasn't in the Vault.

Emilia raises a brow curiously. "A Sneasel eh? Usually don't find them this far southwest. Yes, I think that we could make very good use of that mon on the force. Gives us a bit more variety too, and Dark types are something in a bit of demand with the recent upswing in Psychic activity." She looks over at Amber. "Is it a male or female?" She steeples her fingers. "Depending on its sex I may be able to compensate you quite well."