[Jitter bug]

"If there were they were terrible at scrounging around." She answered, carefully sliding her thumb up and down the edge of a throwing knife, "Alright then." She said after giving his suggestions a moment of thought, having to run after him when he left, "Fine." she said again, her steps louder as she tried to keep up with him.

She was fast but her short height was a disadvantage to her at the moment and she stopped short to kick at the floor and place the crossbow back over her shoulder, the leather strap across her chest holding it against her body, "If you want company you're going to have to be more mindful of how short your company is." She didn't want to be running after him for however long it took him to decide to leave.

((Perfectly alright. ^^ I think they're fine.))

[Jurinjo]

"Then they could be the stupid raiders. One explanation for the disfigured dead. I'd like to find out what happened...food for thought. But you're probably eager to leave I bet." Ricky spent a lot of time alone and consequently had said that without really noticing he had. Ricky decided to follow suit and put his shotgun away as he went down the steps.

"Oh sorry about that...by the way I'm Ricky." he was cordial and pretty much no longer being suspicious of her despite how dangerous that could've been. They came out to a room with a large ceiling with at least half a dozen bodies littered through out the first and second floor of this room. "Energy weapons...hey and in good shape too! Want a gun?" he offered it to her not knowing whether she preferred what she had over one of these babies.

((I have a plot idea for what's in the Overseer's office that's on this level))

[Jitter bug]

The young woman's brow furrowed as he spoke and she shook her head with a sound of annoyance. When he spoke again she relaxed and put her throwing knives away. No need to have weapons out if he had none in hand. "Thalea." The name pronounced with a D instead of the Th sound, "You can call me Aly, Lea, or Thalea, you can't call me Doll." It aggravated her and her brother had always done it to tease her.

When he found the guns she approached slowly, seeming almost unsure when one was offered, "I'm no good with them..." She admitted, picking one up as if it were plagued and carefully setting it down. "I'd like to have one but I've never found a functional one nor do I know how to use them. It's different from using a crossbow, I know that from the broken ones I found. You keep them." She shook her head, preferring smaller weapons that she could hide easily. "I'll carry a couple for you though."

((Ooo! I had to go look that up. XD and the energy weapons. I forgot what they looked like.))

[Jurinjo]

He tsked, "only broken guns that's rather unlucky. I'm sure you won't have trouble shooting it though. The saftey and reloading is something else." Ricky picked up the gun she put down as if it was something gross. "heh, pleased to meet you Lea"

FF>>
The tension between the two still existed but he felt fairly comfortable around her. They had gathered a lot of good things too. There were a surprising amount of weapons about. The citizens had fired on each other for some reason but there was no obvious relation between the two sides. Not gender, rank, or age were consistent with the bodies dead across from each other. It was a curious thing. On the way to the Overseer's office though they passed the infirmary and gathered things there. Ricky willing gave Lea a little more med because of his large stock of weapons.

The room was a very large square with a window overlooking the 2-floored room they were in before. In the middle was a vaguely round desk made completely of metal and attached the floor. Ricky was already looking at the computer resting on the desk. Unlike the one on the wall it ran on its own power source rather than the generator that had once powered this whole place.

"Damn it's password protected. Is there anything in the lockers?" As he stepped out from behind the desk he stepped on a dried finger.

"What the-?" he whispered to himself. Upon inspecting the spot further he noticed other bits of dried flesh and blood coming from under the desk. Only it was attached to the floor. 'wait the floor's pattern!'

"Hey Lea I think this floor actually opens up to another room." he said a little excited and and terrified about what could be down there.

[Jitter bug]

Lea shook her head, "No, I scanned them before and there was nothing." She looked to the ones above her head but as he spoke about the floor she spun to face him, more relaxed around him now but still unwilling to trust him, "Neat. How do we get to it?"

She walked over to see what he was looking at and then looking at him. She'd never encountered a room that the floor opened up to another and if she had she never noticed before.

[Jurinjo]

"The people who built this place loved relying on their computers." he said but without much pause he went into one good thing. "But they also developed a backup plan for everything important. And I'd say this door is important. There would be a way to open it, however I'm worried about why he tried so hard to escape that only part of his hand got out." Ricky sighed, there wasn't any lower levels they could access from other areas of the Vault he was sure it. One thing he was also sure of was that if the other rooms didn't contain what he sought then this is probably where it was.

"You've been a great help, I'm glad you came with me to this dreary place but....I came here for information above all else." Ricky paused trying to think if he should tell her what.

That question might've been inevitable so he did. "My dad was one of those who escaped from this very Vault when he was probably about my age. He didn't talk about it too much but I'm a curious soon. Eventually I found out that they kept a terraforming device here!" The implications of being able to create fertile ground was huge. A big secret to share with her. His body language didn't changed but he readied his mind for any kind of betrayal that could come from this kind of information. Whether it was immediate or once they found a solution.

((the terraforming device is known as G.E.C.K.))

[Jitter bug]

Thalea shrugged and stood as he spoke, "I've never really had the time to stop and poke around at the computers before." She tugged at the leather around her thighs, readjusting it so it didn't pinch. When he expressed that he was glad for her presence she laughed, "I had no choice. I'd rather not test if you were bluffing about the explosives or not." She crossed her arms, raising a brow and cocking her head to the side as he continued on.

"That's amazing." She stayed calm, hiding her shock from him as her hip popped out with her shift in stance, "You never found out where in here they kept it?" She turned back to wondering about the door, "Whatever the reason he was so desperate to escape it's bound to be dead if it was biological, correct?"

[Jurinjo]

He chuckled at that. Ricky could've not had time either but he made the time to practice picking locks and disarming explosives. "I wish I took the time to learn but it was so boooring. Unlike mines or locks you can't actually touch and manipulate with your hands."

Ricky looked up at her from where he was crouched as to keep her in his sights now that she had gotten a little closer. "A terraforming device wouldn't be so special if everyone knew where to find it. Dad only knew that this vault had two of them. Told me he lost a friend who tried to retrieve it." Ricky nodded. That was a very comforting thought but what if the beast was mechanical? No these people were armed to the teeth and fought with themselves not any robots.

He circled round the desk looking and more importantly feeling it int he dim light for something. Anything significant or subtle on its surface. Ricky slowed down at the seat of the desk. Just as he suspected there was a switch there. When he pressed it nothing happened...then a barely audible click was heard in the desk. He felt around once more for a latch the pulled. What happened next broke the silence that continued through out the vault since he had crashed the shelves above an hour or so earlier. The floor mechanism grated for a moment then the desk began to rise. Not surprisingly a skeleton lay at the top of the steps that lead down into perpetual darkness. It reeked worse than the stale air he'd been breathing the entire time.

Something around the air felt odd... "Radiation!" he screamed running around the hole and picking his bag up on the way. "We gotta get out- SHIT!" The small nagging doubt of some monster became just somewhat of a reality as the next thing he saw looked like a corpse and it ran straight out of the abyss. In second he had the shotgun and was fumbling with the saftey. The creature had already turned on the heel of its boots towards the desk itself. By the time he was ready to fire the desk was receding back into the ground.

"Don't shot! Please! I mean no harm..." it spoke dropping to his knees and surrendering his hands. His voice was deep and sounded beyond cracked with age. Despite the desk door being closed he backed up a couple steps more. The radiation would have dissipated quickly but he didn't want to be to close to the source of it.

"A ghoul..." he said still putting his mind around as he was in shock. This was not at all something he expected. Ricky never hated the ghouls like some people seemed to but he always kept his distance. They always looked like they should be dead, understandably that made him extremely uncomfortable.

[Jitter bug]

The young woman silently watched Ricky as he fumbled around for a switch but as she heard the click she stepped back toward the door, bolting out when he started shouting about radiation. She might not know much about the vaults or the people who had lived in them but she did know what effects radiation exposure could have on the body and wasn't keen on having any. His cursing made her turn to see the creature coming toward them and in an instant she had throwing knives in one hand and a mount knife in the other.

When Ricky stopped she did, peering around him at the goul, mumbling, "I take back my previous statement about the dead doing nuthin." She quickly stepped away from her... partner to empty her hands, all items back where they belonged when she realized just how close to him she'd stopped. If a shotgun didn't stop it then knives sure as hell wouldn't.

"How long have you been down there?" she asked, glancing at the desk then back to the goul as she stepped into view. The dead no longer made her uncomfortable after having spent many nights in places containing bodies of varying stages of decay, including a few crypts, but this goul, this moving corpse was upsetting her veiws on how more or less harmless the dead were.

[Jurinjo]

((You editted the last paragraph didn't you? ;p))

The ghoul seemed to not be used to light even weak as a lamp as he squinted the whole time. He wore a simple outfit of a white t-shirt, jeans, and a pair of military grade boots. They were all about in a good condition as he looked so not the greatest. Ricky noticed for the first time though a bag not belonging to him or Lea.

Speaking softly but in no way way whispering it Ricky answered her first question."Ghouls were humans once. But they somehow survive the radiation and instead of dying start to rot. Ugly, but they're still just as smart as any person."

Sensing it was now time for him to speak he made a short chuckle. "Well kid I have no idea how long I was down there. But if you know how long this place has been abandoned I'd say that much." No longer fearing a shot without provocation he stood up just as any man would despite his decrepit appearance.

"I tried to...do something heroic and stupid. I've been trapped down there and you've read me. I'm thankful, any longer and I'd of gone feral." he shook his head. "I brought a bag. Other than the clothes I've been saving for this occasion you can have it...though I warn you it might be a little be irradiated."

Ricky turned his head slightly whispering, "Do you think we should give him a chance?"

[Jitter bug]

((Yeah, I edited it all actually. I was more than half asleep last night and didn't like it when I reread it earlier. haha. I just noticed that my iPod kept respelling ghoul incorrectly too.))

"Uh-huh. I got that." She replied to him, hands on her hips and brow furrowed. It had been more of a sarcastic comment rather than a question, merely meaning that she hadn't expected to find anyone else but themselves in the entire Vault, much less a ghoul.

Her attention left Ricky when the other man spoke, her expression darkening when he called her kid but she made no comment towards it, only listened, nodding that she understood when he fell silent.

She had to think about Ricky's question, judging by his actions as he came out of the hole he didn't seem to be a threat especially when they were two healthy youths. After a moment she nodded but knew he wouldn't see it, "I don't see why not." She whispered back, still a bit unnerved by the gruesome appearance of the man before them. "He's out numbered anyway. He'd have to be an idiot to try anything."

[Jurinjo]

((What do you think of the name Fen? Does it suit a male ghoul like him? His original name is Reol but that's too many R names lol))

The ghoul mustered what Ricky would assume was a smile. "I appreciate getting more credit than an idiot." He quickly grabbed some clothes out of his bag and went behind the desk. "Just a moment I need to change."

It took a little long for the ghoul to change tehre. Ricky was starting to get concerned. The only thing that assured him that the ghoul was still there was his occasionally swear at the clothing for not cooperating. Feral he was not, insane he probably was. When he emerge the majority of his face was covered by a scarf, his tattered hair looked more human under the beanie but the ski mask was ridiculous. The rest of the ghoul's clothes was a motley of brown and black fabric thrown in tandem with black leather. He looked a lot to Ricky like some desert nomad but this guy was from an air-conditioned vault. Whether or not he had lived in hell for the last three decades didn't mean he knew how to make clothes for the wasteland above- sometimes freezing cold or freaking hot.

"Alright if that is all let's get moving ghoul...no weapons for you though so if you got some in your bag leave inside." The ghoul for a moment didn't seem pleased but quickly resigned to the much younger person. He trailed behind with his bag in his hand and keeping a respectful distance to them.

"My name is Fen" he told unconfronting. Curiously he observed his two saviors from behind. The boy reminded him of someone he once knew...but he could not for the life of himself remember. The girl had no gun that he could see. Someone he could imagine besting him in hand to hand combat.

[Jitter bug]

((It's a good name. I like it at least.))

Thalea was silent even as they began to leave but her gaze kept darting back behind them at the ghoul, her gaze almost suspicious even when she was the one who'd said they should give him a chance. It was the feeling of someone behind her, regardless of who they were.

Finally she stopped when the paranoia got to be too much for her, moving out of the path of Fen and waiting for him to pass with a motion of her hand to tell him silently to keep moving before she followed him. She'd been imagining all the missed weapons he could stumble upon and gather.

She began to wonder if Ricky was going to expect her to rest in his shelter when they left or if he even had a place to hide from the elements. If he was going to allow Fen to rest with them or not.

[Jurinjo]

((EDIT-->oh jeeze the first paragraph was confusing *fixes*
and lol GECK has 4 letters not 5. I'm an idiot xDD))

Trip up was quiet. Ricky shared in Lea's paranoia, which fortunately she acted on it first. The ghoul, Fen, complied like he had since they've known him. But Ricky wasn't letting his guard down, not just because it was the smart thing but because there was no way he could imagine feeling any kinds of comfortable with a living corpse as company. The armor Fen wore covered him up but Ricky knew...plus Fen had obviously not showered in a long time. It was something to hear a wastelander complain about someone else's B.O.

The GECK seemed like a lost cause now. He wanted to ask the ghoul, it was his best chance afterall. But he just felt all hope slip and didn't want to bother with the great idea he had in his mind at that time. It was surprisingly Fen who spoke up first. "The exit is not much further, what's the plan? I understand if I'm not welcome but I've no where to go."

Ricky didn't pay mind to the tone or the pity Fen was trying to muster from them. "I know where I'm going...and Lea I wouldn't mind if you came with me. Fen just go west, eventually you might find more like you." Fen flinched a little at that. A ghoul he may have been but these two were the first to lay eyes on him since that transformation and the slight rejection hurt.

"Fine have it that way then!" Fen's temper flared a moment then suddenly he quieted. "Boy, er- Ricky you remind me someone I once knew. It bugs the hell outta me I can't figure. But...I want to give you something that I feel I should giving you."

Throwing caution to the wind he reached into his bag without regard of their paranoia and pulled out what looked like a suitcase...only hit had four bold letters printed on it: G.E.C.K. Completely dumbfounded Ricky stared at it before even a thought crossed him mind to reach for it.

[Jitter bug]

Thalea crossed her arms when he told the man he wasn't welcome, not angry in Fen's defense but angry that Ricky hadn't asked her first when they were partners. She began to speak, "Hey If we're-" But was cut off by Fen's movement, silver glinting in her fingers before his hand was all the way in the bag. She waited, her breath and pulse still calm until he brought out the item he'd been reaching for.

The case. The one Ricky said he'd been looking for.

It gave her all the more reason to tell Ricky off, "If we're going to be 'partners' getting my opinion before doing something like kicking away a potentially useful person would be nice." She made sure to give Fen a look that told him that she was in no way defending him, that her motives for saying what she had were purely selfish as she motioned to the case.

She didn't want to get stuck in a sticky situation because he made some sort of comment or decision that would affect them both without asking her.

[Jurinjo]

Ricky sighed. 'Damn now you've upset a woman! Is there any use arguing here?' he thought to himself. He didn't care too much how useful Fen could be- he was a ghoul! At least Fen was giving the terraformer to them for free. It was just a matter if she actually wanted to keep him along.

"You're right, so would you prefer to keep Fen with us?" Ricky caught Fen looking to her with hopeful eyes. Even for selfish reasons they had he did not mind. His best chance of survival in a world he knew nothing of was with these two.