It's been many long months since Ryder had last crossed paths with his more adventurous friends. Having lost track of them on the outskirts of New Reno when his teleporter malfunctioned, he'd spent days in the desert before making his way to New Brunswick. Out of cash, hungry, and in need of some civilizing, he found a home and a job under Sally's care at the Gecko's Tongue.
It was here for the last two months that he'd been working every day as, switching off as bouncer and waitress for the small crowds of the place. It didn't pay well, but it let him eat, which was good enough for the moment.
Dracos
A beam of sunlight filtered in through the window of Ryder's room at Sally's. With that sunlight hitting him, Ryder's eyes flicker open and he sighs as he looks at the ceiling.
"I'm getting a little tired of that ceiling..."
Ryder sits up out of his bed and stretches, popping a few bones in his back and shoulders before sliding out of bed and walking over to where a calender is hung on the wall, that also conveniently doubles as his schedule. He takes a look at it to see what he had for the day...
Today he had the evening shift, giving him a few hours to get food and other things before work.
Dracos
Ryder sighed... He always disliked the night shifts more. It's the drunks... Either they were up in his face or trying to get in her pants. Either way, it wasn't a problem to get rid of them, but it was still annoying.
"Oh well... time to clean up."
Ryder muttered as he grabbed a towel and headed off to do just that... His thoughts were a jumble, as they had been for the last few weeks.
'What am I supposed to do? I need to find them again, but I can't risk the porter or else I could end up anywhere... I don't know where they are, and finding them could take months, if not years considering how big the Wasteland is... And the fact is, I'm already banned from one city... What's to say that the perpetual chaos that swirls around me won't bring the wrath of Murphy down on me once more?'
Ryder sighed... It was going to be be a long day.
***
About 60 minutes later, a finally cleaned up and dressed Ryder walked into Sally's and took a seat at the bar, yawning a bit as he sat down...
It was a quiet morning, though he could overhear some scattered tallk about a messanger that came to talk with Dr. Simmons today among the breakfast 'crowd'.
Dracos
"A messenger eh? That's unexpected..." Ryder says as he politely waves Sally over.
"Morning, Ryder. Sleep in again?" The older woman teased him.
Dracos
"What do you expect, it was pretty late last night..." Ryder said with a warm smile... He really did like having Sally's company over the last few months, and was grateful for putting him up and on the same token, putting up with him.
"And of course, that means I need coffffeeeeeee...." Ryder said, the last part almost sounding zombie-ish.
"You bean hound," She slid over a warm mug of coffee. Not great stuff, but you drink what you can get out here.
Dracos
Ryder shrugs and drinks some of it down... "It wakes me up, it's full of caffine, and it's oh so lovingly homemade." Ryder replies oh so sweetly...
"Oh, I just remembered..., what do you need for me tonight anyway?"
He was hoping for some bouncer work... While the money and tips for waitressing wasn't bad at all, the uniform...
Yeah.
"Don't think we'll have a crowd tonight, so you can just hang out and keep an eye out for troublemakers," Sally shrugged to his delight.
Dracos
Ryder breated a sigh of relief at that one and drank down a little more coffee...
"That works for me Sally..." He paused for a moment, thinking of the talk he had heard around the building.
"So, what's this I hear about a messenger?"
"Hmm? Don't know. I'll probably hear about it eventually," Sally replied, not too concerned.
"Nothing blows through this town without Sally knowin' about it..." Ryder said with a smirk as he downed the rest of his coffee. He already knew the price, so he pulled out some money and laid it on the bar.
"The rest, as always, is a tip..." Ryder mentioned with a smile as he placed his empty mug on the bar stood up.
"See you at 6 Sally..."
She laughed and collected the money, moving on to other customers.
Dracos
With a bit of a whistle, Ryder walked outside of Sally's started to walk a bit aimlessly around town, trying to see if he could overhear any information about the messenger without having to ask the Doc directly.
Not much chatter, though he spotted ol' gregg heading towards the water plant.
Dracos
Ryder shrugged... It was worth a shot...
With a bit more speed in his walk, Ryder caught up to Gregg and smiled warmly, "G'morn Gregg, how's the plant holdin' up today?"
The roting ghoul turned towards him. "Not bad," he coughed. "Not bad at all with that chip."
Dracos
"Well," Ryder began, "That's good to hear... I'm glad we were able to help out."
Walking alongside of Gregg, Ryder stretched out and put his hands behind his head smiling.
"So, I heard from a friend, who heard it from a friend of theirs, that saw this messenger come into town today for the Doc... You know anything 'bout it?"
"Now, Ryder..." The man stared at him with a bulged out eye. "Do you really think folks bring me" He coughed. "The latest news?"
Dracos
"No... But I thought you may have overheard something..." Ryder continued to smile sunnily as he walked along.
"Unfortunately not, Ryder," The man walked along with him. Well, more like scooted and dragged.
Dracos
"Oh well... I suppose if I really need to, I'll see the Doc before I head back to work." Ryder mentions casually.
"Always, nosey. Good. Not much dangerous around here anyway."
Dracos
"Well, yeah... I'm nosey. That's part of who I am, and it's something I need to change... Or I need to learn to turn invisible. Either way..."
"Well, yeah... I'm nosey. That's part of who I am, and it's something I need to change... Or I need to learn to turn invisible. Either way..."
The man laughed. Or coughed. "Noseyness isn't bad as long as you know when to stop. Heretell don't nose around a nuclear reactor anyhow."
"I'll keep that in mind." Ryder replied as he laughed a bit himself.
The ghoul continued walking towards the water plant.
Dracos
Ryder smiled and stopped walking, "Alright, well, you've got work to do, and I doubt me and my big mouth will help you any today. So, I'm gonna head off... nice to see you again Gregg."
The zombie-man sort of ambled off towards the factory. "Just 'nother day a work. Sooner or later..."
Dracos