#hyperium

@hyperium : ❝ i didn't know where else to go ... ❞ a terrible way to start the conversation. left arm bleeding from a few wounds, though timothy didn't seem distressed about that in the least - clearly, he's gone through worse. ❝ can i come in? ❞ / from tim's re auuuu

dragging himself reluctantly to his feet as the knocks reached ears, the last thing he expected to find at his doorstep was an injured and familiar face. quickly, eyes dart left and right down the hallway to check for threats before his gaze landed back on the man, or more specifically, the blood soaked sleeve. what the hell happened? what trouble had he gotten himself in now? all annoyance of having his quiet night interrupted melted away.

there's only a short pause before leon's stepping back and letting the other man into his apartment without question. inside, it's rather bland. a minimalist for the simple fact that he's not home enough to decorate it, but at least its kept clean for his continued absence. despite it being late as hell, he's not about to kick an injured person to the curb. ❝ mind the rug, i don't want to have to clean blood out of it. ❞ he tells him as he closes and locks the door behind him, for safe measure, before he heads towards the bathroom for medical supplies.

rot is a peculiar smell. putrid, of course, but the tang of sweetness that chases it sits at the back of his throat and makes him swallow. flick a forked tongue with impatience once eyelids provide signs of life and the dismal glow of the room is switched off in favor of something.. more. red. warm. it fits. sparkles on a mask that hides a much anticipated reward. " you're awake.. good. " pen light angles down into ill-prepared eyes, their mismatched nature stitching a rumble, deep in his chest, emerges as a chuckle, " i was hoping to meet you under better circumstances, but— " he'd ran. tore through a city's streets with panicked strides and momentum enough he hadn't seen the body, large and imposing, in his path. " we have much to talk about, you and i, mr. lawrence... or do you prefer the name jack ? "

a simple task , a file encrypted hidden away by an old employee * to be retrieved ; the location an old run- down inn , withered in time and no longer operating.

( * the point of entrance makes her pause .. ) tier corners rise the door evidently propped up open ; the mechanism snapped laying on the ground. " looks like i got some company. " so much for a quick , easy job . entering , a click of her flashlight lighting up the space. echo of the past reflected in the reminisce of shattered glass & broken equipment in some corners. further down the loud snap of glass Ada hears down the hall.

there's the other guest.

so she waits , untill the staggering of what seems panicked steps * fade away into the distance ; silence filling up the room once more. she follows the direction of the source cutting off into two doors ( two routes to pick from. )

she opts for the right , reaching for the handle as the it clicks she slips in undetected. low artificial light reflecting & forming shapes in the darkness , desks & cabinets toppled over . one of the shape takes form of a person , crouched as if trying to blend with the surrounding ( hidden away ) she doesn't move , instincts staying sharp in response.

" didn't realize I was intruding . "

@hyperium asked: "" hey , uh . . . excuse me ? do you know where i can get some food around here ? something that is . . . actually edible . . . " a bit against his own will , but timothy still approached the stranger with that very simple question . he was starving . . . / for the Ghoul >:] ! from timmm"

From: Unprompted Ask || Always Accepting!

There was a laugh that fell from his lips as soon as he heard the question be asked. If someone expected to find something that was even remotely edible in the wasteland than they would have to be searching pretty long and hard to find it. Luckily... Cooper had a few ideas in mind of where someone could find such a thing, but he was about to share that information with the stranger?

Potentially. Maybe he would. But, he didn't exactly give that sort of information out for free or anything, especially not to strangers.

He spit out a bit of whatever he had been chewing on moments prior and gave a glance to the stranger. They didn't seem to pose much of a threat to him, which was good. At the same time, they looked like they had been out wandering a while which he always found kind of funny. Most people tried to go and find some cover someplace to get out of the sun and away from a lot of the things that roamed around, but apparently this person had no concept of this idea yet. Which was probably something that Cooper had to teach them first hand...

❝First things first, stranger, why don't you just stop yourself right there...❞ he remarked and swung out his carbine rifle, racking it to load a round, ❝Can't have you be approaching me too quickly now, can we? Can't exactly trust someone who just wanders up out of nowhere to be friendly and all.❞

Cooper paused a moment to reach up with one hand to scratch a part of his neck, before returning the hand to the rifle and turning his body to face the stranger, curiosity shining in his eyes as he looked at him. There was something about him that really was a bit off putting, but that might have just been because he didn't seem to be matching the clothing that a lot of people seemed to wear in the Wasteland...

Maybe he was one of those people from the vaults he had heard about. If he was? Then this entire conversation was about to get far more interesting.

@hyperium asked: "he can't hold back a snort before the chuckle , jack just stares . eh , i've seen weirder , he thinks . " so what's the deal with you , cupcake ? do i gotta pay you with dog food or what's the catch ? " but he still makes a terrible comment about it . / from jEck . . . . to caden :] !"

From: Unprompted Ask || Always Accepting!

Caden didn't flinch at the comments made at his own expense. That was just what kind of came with the world now it seemed and there wasn't a lot Caden could really do about it at the end of the day. If people wanted to crack a joke at his expense, he'd roll with it. A lot of that stuff didn't get under his fur nearly as much as it used to anymore, which was good... because he sometimes wondered if he did allow it to get to him, how many more contracts would he have lost because of it?

Anyway... this was all beside the point. Caden had come for simply one reason: to get a contract, to do the work as he was expected, and to deal with getting paid later. Jack had not been someone he was expecting to get a contract from, but that partially came down to the fact that he wasn't really used to Hyperion being the type of company who would want to hire on a bounty-hunter.

After all... they had entire armies of robots themselves waiting to go. What could a single hound like himself do that they couldn't take care of? Unless... it was something far more personal for Jack? That was a potential thought picking at the back of Caden's head.

At the end of the day though, everything Jack had done so far hadn't phased the canine. He kept watching, judging from where he stood across the table, red eye flickering every so often in the light as Caden waits for him to be done with... whatever this act was.

❝Dog food would be the quickest way for me to walk out on this deal, Jack, plain and simple,❞ he growled softly, right ear flickering just once, ❝But if you'd like to keep running your mouth, maybe you'll eventually find the right askin' price for what you'd like me to do.❞

With that, he took a step forward, a paw slamming on to the table and a claw pointing at the contract Jack had brought out for this "hunt" as it had been described. And despite everything, Jack had still not given any information about what he wanted Caden to go after.

❝Before ya' start makin' any more jokes, I want to know what it is that you are hirin' me for. I don't deal with huntin' down ghosts, Jack. So... spill the beans outta yer damn head or I can walk out plain and simple. Yer robot army shoulda been able to take care of this anyway, right?❞ his voice cut through the tension that had been building like a knife, eyes trained on Jack, unflinching and entirely unamused. Caden knew Jack could probably find someone else no problem, but he wanted to make it clear that he wouldn't play these games if he was brought onboard.