EDIT: (YAY!!! FIRST 2ND PAGE POST!!!! XD)

Kaylyne observed transactions between the customers and the establishment. She looked at what they had which obviously wasn't much. She wasn't sure at all how to precede, she felt shy for the total span of a second then she got the better of herself. "Um, excuse me. What's the least expensive thing you have to eat or drink?" she asked softly. Her hands folded together in her lap, she sat straight. Her pride and usual outgoing self was not going to become a coward now. She'd lived on her own for too long and had nothing to fear, especially since she'd been able to survive for years since childhood. "Never mind, thank you." she said with a soft smile.

Her not having been around people and such was reminding her that she didn't interact with people and the like for a reason. How in the world was she supposed to when she knew almost nothing about them. Though a forest wasn't always around, there was always a place that humans did not stray unless they needed to. And that's usually where she stayed.

Chris finished the last of his business for the night and decided to go for a walk and find a nice establishment to raze to the ground for the sake of doing so. Walking while assembling some explosive, he found a nice looking bar-type building. He ducked inside for a quick second to see how many people were in there and, satisfied with the number, he stepped back out and dug around in his bag for some old stock to use. He found some and began the process of arming, aiming and throwing each grenade so that the building burnt quickly. He laughed as a chorus of screams began to rise out of the buiding while his maniacal creations killed the people inside, slowly burning them to nothing. Choke on smoke and fear! This society is spiraling into the ground and I will help it on it's way! A new dawn has risen! He roared to the bar, watching through some of the windows as people began to scramble and panic, trying to avoid the flames.

Kayla stared at the cocky blonde haired man that strolled up to her stand, she could hardly believe he had the balls to start off a haggle in such a manner. Leaning foreward she let her hand rest on a small crossbow at her side. Although he appeared older, she would hardly consider him to be a real man. Sitting back calmly, Kayla responded, " You shouldn't be so hostile with someone who could potentially be a good friend, you look like someone who has braved the harsher parts of the wasteland".

Kayla was about to speak again when a strange man walked to the front of the bar, he was limping in an odd manner which was why she had even noticed in the first place; cripples are easy to steal from. What ensued next shocked her, as flames erupted from inside the bar nearby. Her calm demeanor changed drastically, the look on her face seeming more frail and sweet. Motioning for him to come closer, whispering seductively " If you keep me safe, I'll feed and shelter you from the harshness of the wastes.....". The whole time her right hand never left the old crossbow, ready to pull on it in case he was as looney as the guy down the way.

Daggers quickly flashed into his hands at the sudden violence. He let one go with deadly accuracy over the chaotic fray towards where he thought the grenades came from. Now with an empty hand, Derryl reached out for the food left on the plate before taking long strides and leaps over tables towards what he hoped was one of the grimy glass windows. He hated being stuck in fire, it always ruined his day. And he knew just what to.

"The hell outa my way! If you want to live, don't die!" He pushed people down and jumped off of others to crash through the window out of the burning building. The breaking of the glass saddened him a bit as he knew if cleaned up, there were those who would kill to get one this size. Tumbling to his feet he found his freshly rolled cigarette still in his mouth and now lit. He happily puffed as he looked around for the knife he tossed. His mood greatly improved now that the fire was behind him and not on him.

Coughing at the sudden appearance of smoke, Cassi grabbed her weapon before following the first man to leave, clutching her chest in agony. The heat was triggering her old burns, causing them to sting and burn as if new. Two feet from the window, she dropped. "Sh-Shit," she swore, trying to drag herself closer while remaining conscious.

Once she reached it, she tossed her weapon outside before trying to pull herself up and out. After what seemed an eternity, she fell to the cool ground on the other side, panting while her body quivered. The cloth beneath her hand had dried from the heat, but there was nothing she could do about it. Even moving her arm caused her to nearly black out from the pain. "H-Hey! Is someone there?" she called out, hoping that the man was nearby. "I need help!"

Her railgun glimmered softly in the orange and yellow light of the burning building behind her. Oh yes, she would shoot whoever had done this with such velocity that his body would never be found. Managing to roll over, Cassi gasped as the pain overcame her nervous system. For a few brief moments, there was nothing but the pain. It was all that existed, and then it was gone, leaving her shuddering. She quickly forced herself to her knees, turning away from her weapon to throw up, still shaking like a leaf. Instead of trying to get farther away, she just sat there, breathing heavily while waiting for the pain to vanish.

Alexei narrowed his eyes with suspicion at the woman's first words to him. A girl lecturing him in the ways of haggling? Ridiculous. But that's not what peeked his interest. It was the way in which she seemed to size him up, mentioning how he'd braved the harsher parts of the wastes. "Friendship is overrated." He replied with a scowl, having had his fair share of sticky business situations with those he'd 'professionally' collaborated with in the past. "I'm strictly here on flat-business terms."

And that's when it'd happened. Turning around to where the women was facing, he witnessed a most exciting sight. He could feel the explosion's heat waves all the way from where they were standing. People crawled out of the poorly assembled tavern, Alexei even witnessing a man jump out a window, and a girl on the ground, screaming for help. "This town's going to shit..." He said under his breath before he caught word from his would-be trade partner as she whispered in his ear.

"I'm no guard dog." Was his immediate reply, offended by such a pathetic offer. Yet, he still just stood there a moment, watching the flames consume the small building, his mind seeming to contemplate his options. In this town's newborn frenzy, it was the perfect opportunity to loot the place silly. Really rape it clean. But on the other hand, this girl's offer was one he didn't often come across...

It wasn't a few seconds later that he'd come to a decision. "You'd better make good on your word, merchant." He finally replied, deciding to bend his own rules a bit. "Stick close by and you might keep your life. Stray too far, and it's no concern of mine what might happen." And with that, he began walking off, away from the burning building that people were trying to put out, other people screaming in the streets and running around in a crazed frenzy.

He was sure to keep his hand on his most prized makeshift weapons that sat at his side: an axe's handle that, instead of an axe, had four blender blades tightly strapped to it with a worn leather belt and some tight cloth, supported by a metallic bicycle chain. His first stop? The local housing units. Surely there was something useful to loot in there. Meanwhile, he'd also get a good deal off of this merchant girl. Two birds, as they say.

"I-," Kaladin was blasted off from his chair as one of the grenades exploded a few meters beside him. He hit the ground hard, his head thumping on the cold floor, the wind knocked out of him. The pain intensified as the screams resounded in his head and the heat licking his back. Moaning, he shakily reached for the table, using it as leverage as he slowly pulled himself up.

As he slowly regain orientation, he noticed that the stranger was gone, along with his food.
"Tch," Kaladin shook his head as his vision cleared. His temple was bleeding and he was sure that he had a concussion but there was no time to check. The flames around him roared and the cries of the burning made him wince. With gusto, he pushed himself off the table and he staggered towards the entrance. Along the way, he stopped to remove rubble that was crushing an older man. As the last piece of heavy debris was lifted, Kilik was repaid by being shoved down as the man scrambled away. He groaned, getting up.

"I need help!"

Kaladin swiveled around as he heard a girl cry out. Outside of a broken window, he saw a girl panting and gasping as she shook on her knees. Making sure his bags and weapon was secure, Kilik quickly dodged the burning flames. He hid his nose behind a sleeved arm to try and block the acrid smoke.

He reached the window, jumping out. Approaching the girl, he saw that she was in no condition to move by herself. Heat blasted intensely behind him as something inside the building exploded. Hastily, Kaladin bundled the girl in his arms and took off, nearly toppling over as the building behind him burst into a massive fireball.

Kaylyne heard the explosion and cursed turning around to see the building engulfed in flames. She saw people running, on fire, or jumping from windows. This was cruel. Why was this happening? Everyone should be helping someone else and moving along to rebuild. But they didn't have enough destruction did they? She watched as a man jumped from a window with a small girl in his arms. She ran over, reaching inside her pack already. He didn't look too hurt, but there was a gash on his face and he seemed to be a bit singed. "Are you alright?" she asked softly, kneeling down to help him. She wanted to help sick and injured no matter who they were.

This was too much, whoever had done this was a mad man. She also thought that it was lucky that she was here to see the town. She could help with whatever healing and such needed to be done. But for now, this man and girl were her first priority.

Feeling herself suddenly lifted, Cassi felt relief, but her chest ruined that by flaring up again as the burns were stretched. The agony forced her to gasp again, leaving her breathless as the man started off away from the building, stumbling slightly. "Thanks," she croaked, coughing slightly as her head swiveled around to give her a better view.

Slowly, the pain was receding, but it was also leaving Cassi extremely tired. The arrival of another female puzzled her for a moment, but the girl's question snapped her out of her daze. "Water. I need cool water," she said. "And my weapon. But I'll get that later. Just don't take me to far away."

The burning building truly looked magnificent, in a horrible way. There was really no excuse for something like that. The screams of the dying sounded incredibly loud to her ears, and she found herself hoping that most everyone made it out alive. She almost hadn't after all. In fact, if the fire had started closer to her, she probably wouldn't have.

The acrid smell of smoke and burning bodies blew towards her on the breeze. Among the typical smells of a burning building, there was the scent of alcohol, which really explained why it caught so readily. Alcohol was quite flammable. Coughing again, Cassi watched as the wind sent sparks flying towards another building, this one metal. There was still a possibility that the wind could send more sparks to one of the wooden ones though, and that would be quite disastrous.

"You're going to want to get people waiting at the other wooden buildings with water in case a spark goes flying the wrong way," she called out, wincing as her lungs pushed against the burns. A passing man nodded before relaying her directions to the others, which were quickly followed. At least these people would listen to reason.

Kaladin nodded as the girl thanked him. He stumbled slightly, but managed to set her down before collapsing himself. He wheezed, gulping down fresher air. He kept his eyes clenched as they burned, producing streams of tears that trailed down his ashen face. He groaned, rolling onto his stomach and revealed his pack.

"Backpack....water...for her..." He moaned, his hands twitching a gesture to the other female.

He laid on the cool ground until his breathing slowed to a normal pace. Slowly standing up and taking off his backpack, he grudgingly walked towards the burning building. As he walked by, he saw survivors hunching over and throwing up. Some were on the ground, catching their breath. Kaladin slightly hesitated when he saw the stranger from before, puffing on a cigarette. He glared for a second before continuing his way towards the broken window from where he rescued that girl. The building was still set a balze, but the intensity was lowered after the flames reached its peak. Lying on the ground was her weapon.

Kaladin walked over to it, picking it up. It looked like a gun, but it was oddly shaped.
"Huh." Kaladin scratched his head as he examined the weapon. Shrugging, he walked back to the two females. He plopped down across the girl, whom he noticed has burn marks. Silently, he placed the gun in her lap.

Reaching inside her pack Kaylyne took the water and placed a few herbs in it. "It helps speed the healing process, and it'll give you some energy, not to mention a little pain relief." she spoke softly and handed the water to the girl, the man himself needed attention. She looked him over, and sighed. "Are you hurt anywhere else, either of you?" she said quickly, not wanting to waste time and let anything bad happen. These people were all innocent except for the idiot who had blown the place sky high. The other survivors were strangling away or mourning over something now. It had happened quickly and now no one knew what to do it seemed. She wanted to help the others badly, but she knew that outsiders like her were more willing to accept help.

"I'm Kaylyne, I gather herbs and such in the forests I manage to find. I can help with your injuries, if you would like." She spoke as she surveyed the building, watching everything burn down. The cracking and crumbling, screams and cries, heaving and coughing. It filled the air like a horrible, terrifying symphony. And it bothered her, she couldn't stand to see others hurt. Hopefully, she'd be able to help more than just these two.

Taking the water gratefully, Cassi took a few large gulps before undoing her bandages. The skin where her burns had been were now a bright, angry reddish color, obviously irritated by the heat from the fire. Usually they were a rosy pink, but the skin was still sensitive, even after all this time. Now it was just ten times worse. Her top had already been discarded, and she didn't worry about spilling any water onto her shorts as she poured it into the bandages. They grew darker as they absorbed the water, dripping quite a bit. The sighs of relief as she reapplied them were involuntary, escaping her mouth before her mind could register them.

"Thank you so much!" she exclaimed, handing the bottle back before rising, her gun in her hand. The thanks was for everything of course, including the return of her weapon, and extended to both members of their group. Her railgun was as good as new, except for a fine layer of soot. That would ruin the conductivity though, so she quickly wiped it off before fetching her top and putting it back on.

"Seriously though, I might be able to get you guys a discount with a merchant I escorted in here," she said, throwing her thumb over her shoulder to indicate that they should follow her if they wanted in. "I'm Cassi by the way. You guys coming or what?" In fact, the merchant probably would give a small discount, considering she was one of the best guards around. It didn't hurt that she had a weapon capable of ripping through a lot of things easily either.

Kayla wasted no time in packing up; nothing really needed to be strapped down since the wagon was her stand. After closing the side, she lept off the wagon, going to the donkey and getting it hooked up to the makeshift trade stand; In the form of a carboard box. It would take a few minutes. She grabbed a can of tuna from her personal stash in the front of the crude vehicle. Steering the mule up next to him as he walked, she began staring at him with a somewhat disdainful look. After several seconds of silence, Kayla finally spoke up, "Are you hungry?", the whole time keeping her fuzzy slave pulling the cart next to him. Nonchalantly, the can of tuna was set on the portion of seat next to her. She would look back at the homicidal maniac behind them; he wouldn't last long against a group like that, considering one person even had a god-damned behemoth of a gun.


(Please let me know if this post was bad, I am sort of having writer's block at the moment.)

Unable to locate the dagger he let loose, Derryl turned back around to face the building. The fire was burning magnificently, and he could have sworn he saw the kid run back into it. "Idiot." he murmured to himself. He watched carefully for the other's return, debating whether he should save the kid if worse came to worse. But he came out on his own with an unusual instrument which the young man handed to an injured woman, his attention was caught. Walking over, hiding his deep staggered breathing from the smoke and his brief running, the thin brunette smiled at the three of them.

"Took your sweet time getting out of there, Kid. And next time you run back into a burning building, here's a tip; don't. Buuut if you really have to put a wet cloth over your nose and mouth, it keeps from excess smoke inhalation." He knelt down to join them, glancing over each of them carefully. He noticed that some of the girl's wounds were older, but the other woman was trying to help tend to those. They all looked too kind for the wastes, something or someone would find them and take advantage of that. He sighed heavily, pulling out the strips of meat he had hastily taken from the table. "Here, these are yours Kid. You and the girl here could do with the strength. I'm gonna go stand over there looking menacing." He stood up and took two steps away, facing the crowd, with a scowl and his hands on his hips. The coat was pushed back by his arms, showing off several mean looking daggers, not all of them metal.

"I..." Kaladin trailed off but smiled, as the stranger gave his advice and bluntly stood up. Taking the meat, he divided it into two equal parts, giving it to the two ladies. He already ate some of it and the other two didn't even get a chance to have their orders served, from what he observed earlier. Suddenly, an idea dawned on him.
"Hey..." He slowly started, turning to the wounded girl, "If we can join...could he too?" Kaladin stood up, walking towards the older man. He stood in front of the stranger, seeming to analyzing him slightly.

Finally, he nodded, standing beside him. "Supposedly, there are newer rumors about old technology. Mind telling us what they are, stranger?"

Chris rolled around in the filth on the street, laughing as the building burnt. Many people rushed our as more still were trapped and burnt or crushed. Down the street he heard a girl calling for help, agony gripping her voice. This did nothing to help Chris' aching sides as he laughed harder at her misfortune. Deciding that he had enough of burning things, he divided to make this girls life a hell, putting all of his energy into one person. Perhaps he would break her fingers. Perhaps he would cut them off. He rolled a die quickly to decide. Break them it was to be. He rounded the corner to see a couple of people standing, covered in soot and panting. Among them was a girl, obviously in excruciating pain. Chris was unarmed, having used his only ready explosives on the bar. He stepped back, hoping they hadn't noticed him. He couldn't outrun them and doubted he could fight them all without a weapon.

The building was still smoking but the fire had slowed down, most of these towns were either tindershacks or like this town, old buildings repurposed. So people were still standing around watching it smolder, many had gone about their day, sights like this being almost common place. There were others who seemed to be reveling in the destruction, people had their own twisted ways of getting their kicks off. And Derryl had met many a person like those. Sighing at the sight of the crazies laughing in delight, he addressed the kid again.

"Depends, there are plenty of stories involving old tech in one way or another. But I'm sure you're referring to the Hidden Cache tale. Everyone's heard it, big deposit of old world technology never destroyed, still working, hidden away. As for any new bits of information regarding that, I don't know. I've heard much from clients and uh, their 'associates', they tend to talk like I'm not there. Some tid-bids took me here. How much is it worth to you?" He suddenly realized that he might have said more than he should have. The kid might not figure it out, but he didn't want to let everyone know just what he did. Most people didn't take kindly to it and he wasn't in the mood to fight his way out of another town.