(Untitled)

[neraiutsu]

For the past day or two, ever since he stopped by the Cooper farm and got his car fixed up, Neil has been driving aimlessly around Kansas and the surrounding area.

He's usually happy to stop for a chat. There really isn't that much to do around here except talk to strangers.

Comments

[blueisboring]

Ai-Ling has been distracted from her search for Miki only by the very strong drive to a) stay alive and b) have fun doing so. She's not figured out how to drive a car, and her hitchhiking attempts were terminated after she had to defend herself from unsavoury drivers one too many times.

That's not to say she's avoiding the road: right now, for example, she's walking along the side of a road, using a rope slung over her shoulder to pull a sled she made herself out of a couple of skate boards and a lot of scrapped wood. Her belongings, on the back, include the salted remains of a deer; she'd hate to waste any.

[neraiutsu]

Huh.

She's on the opposite side of the road, walking in the same direction he's driving; that's good, because it means she's not on his blind side, and he sees her before she sees him.

As he comes up behind her - driving slowly, because he's in no particular hurry - he's still debating whether or not to stop and say hello. Some people don't like to be bothered.

[blueisboring]

Had any of the dangers Ai-Ling has faced actually been a serious threat to her, and not just a morally-angering annoyance, she might have given the car a berth. As it is, she slows down and stands to the side,letting him pass.

But with a wide friendly grin, and even a wave of hello. She's not going anywhere, and sometimes it's nice to talk to people.

[neraiutsu]

That settles it. He stops and leans out the lack of a window, grinning back.

"Hi."

Okay, so it's not the most brilliant conversational opener in the world.

[shadelet]

He does not have to even stop- this stranger is coming straight to him, via the shadow in the legroom of the passenger seat, rising up like some off-brand Ringu clone to peer out the windshield.

"Wheeee!"

[neraiutsu]

She appears in his blind side.

His hand is off the steering wheel and on the gun in his shoulder holster before he consciously hears her voice; then his head finishes turning and he reverses the movement almost as fast as he made it.

For a second or two he can't think of a single thing to say.

Then, both hands on the wheel, he offers her a rueful grin. "Hello. You kind of startled me there. Do you pop up in strange cars a lot?"

[shadelet]

"Sometimes. If it looks neat. I'm Penumbra. Who're you?"

[neraiutsu]

"Neil."

He can't manage a good to meet you quite yet.

"Penumbra? That's a nice name. I don't think I've heard it before."

[sworntoalostgod]

At some point, near the farm, there's a middle-aged man walking in front of a brown horse on the road. A child of around eight sits on the horse, fiddling with the reins - though the elder keeps correcting her for it.

When Oliver sees the oncoming car, he gestures to the horse, who ambles to the side of the road. The horse is apparently quite well-versed in hand signals.

Bridgette sighs and says, "You sure we can't go faster?"

Shortly, "Yes, Miss Dubois." The person in the car gets a glance and a small, friendly 'sorry I was blocking the road' sort of nod.

[neraiutsu]

Neil nods back, glancing out of the window with some interest and slowing down considerably.

Horses: not exactly common in 2307.

[sworntoalostgod]

"Hello," Oliver greets, and if it's not an overly enthusiastic greeting it's because his attention is split between the horse, the girl, and the new person.

Beau snorts, shaking his mane when the strange metal thing slows. It takes a Command from Oliver to keep him walking peacefully.

"Hello!" says Bridgette, giving the eyepatch more of a stare than is polite. "You're new, huh?"

[neraiutsu]

"Yeah." Wry: "Is it that obvious?"