Scribblegroove

Greshken Looking down at Ezekiel and Crackshot. "Worry not. I'm with you. If any group of raiders is stupid enough to attack us after seeing me they're definitely too stupid to beat us." Grinning slightly and raising his cannon slightly higher. "If we must we can always fire up this bad girl while you hide behind me. Anything that survives will most likely run away after a blast like this." his expression changed suddendly. "But if it does come down to dimplomacy and friendlyness, I might have to stay out of sight, or at least at a considerable distance. Wastelanders tend to... run away at the sight of me. So any caravan with mercanaries wont be very happy to see the likes of me. If we're getting closer, I might go around a bit and wait for you guys up ahead." Virtue Sighing noticably at Dashia's question, she then smirked. "I guess I owe you that now. Well, I'd rather keep my youth to myself, but I've been a bounty hunter for the past couple of years. Well, quite specific one at that, but it doesn't matter. I killed for money." She didn't seem to be very fond of that. She slowed down slightly and a mellow expression appeared on her face. Softly whispered to herself. "they deserved it after all..." changing her pace slightly to catch up with the others again and trying to smile, she added "I've also kept some of the raiders entertained with my company, as well as making them feel safer. Some of them are really paranoid a bounty hunter is about to appear on their doorstep to collect their heads. I take this tension away." She scoffed slighly at the memories that popped up in her mind. "With expertise on several different levels."

Greshken As Aile, and eventually the rest of their group caught up with greshken, he looked down at the mare. He didn't really know who she was, or what she was like. Her beliefs and thoughts were unknown to him, and that bothered him slightly. He wanted to know about everyone he was fighting alongside with, so he decided to ask her question. A very personal one at that. "I may be wrong, but I had the feeling that you knew the strange newcomer. At least he seemed to know you." He was silent for a moment. Attempting not to intrude her past too much with greedy questioning, he decided to ask in a slightly more discreet manner. "If you do know him, what can you tell us about him that might give us an advantage?" Treading forward steadfastly, with the cannon uncomfortably hung from his hip, attached to his armour so he only had to use one arm to carry it, Greshken looked towards the horizon. Soon they would come across a road that would lead them straight towards Manehatten. But staying on roads also meant being vulnerable. Most raiders set up their traps and camps near roads where many travellers could be found. Perhaps they would have to find a more hidden, and thus safe route. But for now their current direction was good enough. Virtue Following Dashia, who seemed to grow more excited with every step, Virtue felt that the silence was dragging her down. Trying to strike up a little conversation, she looked up at the flying pegasus and asked. "What are your parents like Dashia? I've heard a thing or two in the last few hours but I'd love to hear more before we actually meet them." Glancing to chip, who was walking beside her, she raised a brow. "Might be good to learn a few things about your parents-in-law so you can get on their good side, you know."

Virtue After Virtue had returned from opening the safe for Crackshot, she adressed Dashia. "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation with Ezekiel. I'm certain it's very important, but I believe it is time to go. We cannot afford to lose any more time." Turning to the others as well, she tried to assume a slightly commanding, but mostly persuasive position. "If we go now, we might be able to meet up again in about a week, considering our travelling time will be lengthly. We do not have any way to communicate." She paused for a moment and glanced at Dashia's pip-buck. She wasn't familiar with the Vault-tech issued computer, so she didn't know its capabilities. "At least not in any way I can think of. We'll have to trust that we wait for eachother back at Junction town. Let's just aim for a week and hope for the best." Greshken Lifting the cannon back up, he grinned at it with great excitement. "Ah, mine at last. You'll never know how much this means to me Chip." He sighed, turning to look at the mechanic. Only then he realised that he wasn't going to come along with him. Slightly distressed, Greshken frowned. "Going with Dashia might pose to be a problem for me if the Cannon malfunctions. I wont be able to re-" He then stopped himself. Looking at the weapon again, he remembered. "I forgot about the spirit for a moment. It wont break on me..." It seemed as if a grand realisation dawned upon him, and his grin became even wider. "I have nothing to fear as long as I have enough ammunition. This weapon might be far more powerful than I imagined." Taking action and following Virtues words, he simply started moving in the general direction in which he knew he would find the road that lead to manehatten. He just assumed that the others would eventually follow him. "Let

Greshken "That-" Greshken started, as he swung the cannon in front of Chip so he could crawl under it again to fix the firing mechanism "- sounds like the best idea of today." He had patiently waited for things to develop far enough so that the could return to actual action again, instead of constantly talking, and now his weapon would finally be finished, and then they'd be on their way. He couldn't wait. Virtue Crackshot gave her the idea that stealth wasn't absolutely nescesary, so she dropped to the ground again and followed him as they headed for Ricto's house. Rather quickly they arrived at his doorstep and she opened the door again, which she had left unlocked after breaking in the first time. Going upstairs, it didn't take long for her to find the safe Crackshot had been talking about. "Alright, this will take a moment..." She said as she crouched down and put her ear against the safe, trying to find the correct combination to open it. [Lockpick 50]

Virtue looked at Dashia as she explained her plan. It made sense to her, and she decided to agree with it. Facing the sun, which was setting at the horizon, she sighed once, and then looked at the others with full confidence. "Right, that's the plan then. Greshken, Crackshot and Chip should go after the chip and find out what it is. Me, Ezekiel and Dashia will go to this hellhound sanctuary and find Dashia's mom. We can meet up again in Junction R-7. I am not too familliar with the place, but I'm certain we'll be able to restock and rest there without much hassle or hostility." She then looked at Aile, and gave her a considerate look. "Now you have to choose who you're going with Aile. I'm certain you want to go after the chip, and I'm sure you have questions for whoever it is that stole it, but it might be dangerous to go after him..." Taking a step back and pausing for a moment, she look her in the eyes. "I suppose the choise is yours." With that, she turned around to look at Crackshot. "A safe huh? Maybe I can. I can't say I'm unfamilliar with cracking locks, but some are still too hard to crack for me..." She said. "I'll try to sneak inside again. I don't want the raiders to notice me again, or I'll cause even more suspicion and they might come after us to avenge Ricto." She thought about her statement for a moment, and then shrugged. "Well it's not like they liked Ricto, but I'm certain they'll take any excuse to go on a avenging crusade to hunt us down. The raiders in this town are often far too bored..." With a smile, she took off in the air soundlessly again. Though she looked far from elegant, hovering there, having trouble making speed, her wings didn't make a sound, and you'd barely notice she were there if it weren't for her deep purple colored coat that contrasted heavily with the sky. "Anything I need to know before I go? Is Ricto fond of boobytrapping his safes?"

Virtue After a bright Flash, the stallion was gone, and Virtue stood perplexed. As much as she had hoped that this stallion could give them more information, she was mostly glad that she was still alive. She exhaled and let the tension in her body go. Looking at Ezekiel, she whispered: "Thanks for defending me like that." And she gave him a grateful look. She then turned to the others. "Well... Now what. I have to think for a moment." She hesitated and paced around a bit, looking down at her hooves. "I suppose we'll have to look up that strange stallion eventually, but not necessarily now..." She looked up, doubtful and uncertain. "What do you guys think."

@@Defender of Tomorrow Virtue Looking down at the despicable stallion with one of her foulest stares, she breathed in slowly, and then continued to speak on a silent, controlled, but obviously angered tone. "First of all, if you had taken the slightest consideration to look at this situation from my perspective, then you would've realised that this entire 'duel' looked like a definite fight to the death. I was simply trying to make sure nopony else got hurt. The first thing you do when somepony is trying to make sure things get talked through is threaten her in front of all her allies, after either stealing or reposessing the chip that was previously in Aile's possesion. It was easy to assume that your intentions were far from good." She was clearly furious now, and the accusations of this unthinkably stupid stallion had gotten to her pretty badly. "So you better put that sword away from me or you will regret it." She then turned to the entire group, and especially to Aile. "Secondly, I am demanding information on behalf of these ponies here. If that chip is really so important to you, you might want to know that these ponies have fought for their lives to protect it, and prevent if from falling into the wrong hands. I've seen it happen. So if you have even the slightest bit of decency, you will explain us." She hesitated for a moment, and then pointed to Aile. "Or at least her what the hell that chip even does and why it's so important. Like Aile said, they've been chased around quite badly, and from what I have seen their enemies are powerful." "Finally..." She whispered, and she turned to the stallion again. "If there was anypony left on this world that would encourage peace and negotiation, the last of them would be raiders. Do not compare me to this scum." She said turning around to point at the village. "And do not compare me to the stereotype of the enclave. I can barely call myself a pegasus already, let alone you." Still waiting for the newcomer to take his weapon away and become more reasonable, Virtue started becoming slightly nervous. She was far too fragile to commence in a head-to-head fight. This stallion could slay her in a single hit. But her words usually got her where she wanted to be, so hopefully the sword would be lowered in just a moment, and not struck through her throat. She broke slightly eventualy. "Please... we can work this out. I'm sorry for insulting you. Just put down your weapon..." [Charisma 10, speech 100] Greshken Seeing that the fight started to get out of hand with Virtue striking the wrong note for the newcomer, Greshken walked up behind the stallion. He didn't ready any weapon, or assume any stance that would propose agression, but he simply looked down at the tiny stallion, breezed through his nose and grunted softly. "Do not make the wrong choice." The stallion, who was experienced with melee weaponry himself, would most likely see that Greshken would outmatch him in a fight. [Melee 100, str 10 end 10, several perks]

Virtue had gone to fetch some more medical supplies before they left for whatever place Dashia had in mind. As she was gathering everything, Chip came in with a shot wound. Verdant quickly took the bits that Virtue owed him and then tended to Chip’s wounds. Hearing that he had taken care of Ricto, she gave him a slightly concerned look, but then smiled. "Well, I guess that problem is dealt with. I hope Verdant fixes you up properly because we're leaving soon." After giving a nod to the doctor, she left the medical centre. Outside there was a strange disruption going on. Apparently there was a fight, because a few ponies had lined up to watch and enjoy. Only then she realised it was Ezekiel who was duelling, and she immediately decided to put a stop to it. After all they were somewhat outside the town already, so the small amount of raiders would probably leave when she broke up the fight. "What in the blazes do you think you are doing?" She roared, and even though het voice was rather timid it successfully pierced the commotion and everypony fell silent. She frowned at the raiders that had gathered 'round. She recognised some of them, and they recognised her. "Get lost now boys, you have better things to do." She said, making a 'shoo' gesture. Then she turned around to the others. "And you. If expect this from the likes of the raiders in this town, but I am sincerely disgusted that you would lower yourself to their standard!" She preached at Ezekiel. "and also that no one has tried to stop this..." She said addressing everypony else. She then looked at the strange, cloaked stallion who opposed Ezekiel. "Now who are you, why are you fighting him and why can't we talk about this in decency?" She said in a serious tone, and continued slightly more empathetic: "unlike the raiders in Ponyville we can be trusted. Some of these ponies are just a little... stubborn I guess. Why did you take Ailes chip?" She asked, finally realising what had happened when he saw Ailes prized posession on his body. "And why is it so important anyway Aile?" She asked the mare, who she knew little about. [speech: 100 Charisma: 10 throughout all of this post] Meanwhile, Greshken is calmly sitting on the canon he had been dragging around, having a pint and waiting for it all to blow over.

Virtue looked at the bits offered to her. She smiled coyly at Crackshot and snickered. "Me neither. Keep the bits." She turned around, facing away from Crackshot and looking at Dashia. "Do we still have business in this swine pit or can we leave? I believe things will get dangerous for you guys rather soon if we don't." She asked her, referring to Ricto ordering them killed once he found out Crackshot tricked him.

Vitue Frowning lightly, Virtue sighed. "I still don't know why you'd want me to get it..." But then her face brightened up and she grinned slightly. "But since it's so easy anyway... Watch this." With that, she trotted away to Ricto's house, composing a plan in the short time it took her to get there. She waited for about thirty seconds, cauteous that she wouldn't be seen. When one of the ponies a few blocks down started blaring at another, and a slight fight broke out, she made use of the distraction. In mere seconds she lockpicked the lock on Ricto's door, and went inside unseen. The moment she was inside, she scanned the place to find what she was looking for. Experienced as she was, she immediately spotted the old battered rifle. She took it in her teeth and then strapped it against her back. When she was about to leave, she noticed that the streets had calmed down again. If someone saw her exit Ricto's house they'd be suspicious. She locked the door and decided to take another route. She opened a window to at the side of the building as silently as she could, and then jumped out of it without making a sound. Inbetween the shadow of two buildings, she could barely be noticed soundlessly floating in the air. She carefully closed the window. Throughout all of this two minute adventure, she hadn't left a trace of her presence. As soon as she got to the ground, she walked up to Crackshot as casually as possible, as if she had just gone away to get something to drink. "Here we are..." She said, happy that she had so easily taken care of the job. She handed over the rifle to Crackshot. "You better hide that for when Ricto returns. It's your problem now."

Doc Verdant observed Dashia for a while. "Med-x it is." He said eventually, having 5 sets of needles for Dashia. "You want fixer with that? You pegasi don't want to get addicted to that stuff. It'll be 80 bits with, 55 without." He said as he put the needles on the table between them. "If you want me to fix a knee joint I'll need a place with better equipment. I can't help you with that besides preventing infections." Virtue sighed at Dashia’s request. "I'll see what I can do. Tough don't expect me to come back with his diary or anything." She mumbled. She a pony like Ricto kept logs, so she probably wouldn't find anything substantial at his place if she were to look there. Just at that moment Crackshot asked her if she could break into Ricto's place to retrieve a gun. "Now why would I do that. Shouldn't we be more worried about why Ricto is heading out if town right now?" She asked, not knowing about the conversation that took place between him and Ricto.

Scribblegroove @@Windbreaker, @@Midnight Scribbler "Oh, I suppose we were just enjoying the scenery. Though the place might not be in its best state, it still has..." He paused for a moment. He wanted to say something genuine, because he didn't want to offend Bluemane. While he felt that this place was far from charming, he did feel that it had endured a lot for a long time. "... History. This looks like one of the oldest places of the town... Though it might just seem like that." Remembering all the other buildings in town that had been renovated, a question dawned to him. "How come the docks haven't been patched up like most of the buildings in town? If I'm not bothering you too much to ask that is..." He gave the captain a slightly apologetic look. They were tourists, guests of this village after all.

@@Midnight_Aurora Virtue's ears perked up at the strange question, and she raised a brow. "I'm not sure. If you're implying your coltfriend and Ricto, I would keep an eye on the scumbag, and make sure he never comes close to anything you hold dear." But her expression became a little more sensitive and emphasizing. "But of course you should keep your loved ones safe from the corrosive loathing of others. If the matter is unresolvable, I would make sure to never come in contact with such hateful ponies ever again." She smirked at Dashia. "If you're looking for an excuse to kill Ricto though, there's plenty. You don't have to justify anything for yourself. The world would be better off without knuckleheads such as Ricto." When she finished that sentence, she did feel like she betrayed herself a little. "Though I would never kill Ricto in cold blood. As much as he is an asshole, I'm not the one that should decide his fate." she tapped her muzzle with her hoof, looking up, as if she tried to remember something. "In fact, he did help me in some way." she gestured to the town around them. "He, and many leaders before him made sure the savages of this town didn't tear me apart the moment they saw me. Being a pegasus is difficult enough, let alone a fragile mare like me. But I had services to offer them, and many of their high ranked accomplices." She gave Dashia a confirming look. "But by all means, if you want to murder Ricto, go ahead. I wont stop you. Just make sure you get to him in time, I have the gest that Crackshot will do it himself sooner than later." The entirety of this conversation, they did so close to eachother, making sure nopony else could hear them.

Greshken As soon as they arrived on the site of their fight the previous day, Greshken started searching for the weapon that he had tossed away when the missile was about to hit him. He was afraid that it might have been damaged, since the explosion blast had still been quite close. Looking at the crater that it had left, he realised that it was most likely still quite irradiated around there. Trying not to get too close, he scouted the area for the cannon. He eventually found it beneath some rubble. Scratched, but mostly undamaged. It still wasn't finished yet however, and Greshken wanted to get that fixed. With the Cannon in his hands, he walked away from the barn, hopefully never to return, and approached Chip. "Did you get the plant?" He asked him, but seeing the bag he had with him confirmed it already. "I was wondering if we could fix the cannon here. If not we can return to your shop and see if you have more adequate parts there." he said, lifting the gun again and looking at its firing mechanism. Even though he had little knowledge on how it was supposed to work, he reckoned the two loose wires weren't supposed to stay like that. Virtue Everypony started to split up. Greshken and Chip had left to find a specimen of the virus to give to Dashia's mother, who apparently had the scientific know-how to research such dangerous organisms. Crackshot and Ezekiel had gone to talk to Ricto to get some more information. How useful it would actually turn out to be was unclear to her, but she reckoned there were things they had to settle. She wouldn't get between such personal matters. Then Dashia came walking towards her clumsily, her stiff, makeshift casted hindleg clanking with every step. It made her snicker slightly, but she then approached to meet the mare halfway. "You need some medical assistance as well I reckon..." She said, giving a painful look. "I saw how messed up your leg was. Aren't you in pain right now?" She asked, wondering if the mare had injected med-x, or if she was immune to pain.

Greshken Still recovering from the procedure, Greshken felt like ask his muscles were aching, but he felt healthy. "I'll be ready in a moment. This medicine... It's heavy." He groaned in between gasps, still trying to regain control of his heartbeat and perspiration. Virtue Virtues heartbeat began to rise as Ezekiel explained. Slowly he was confirming what she had known all along. A large part of her history, if her life was being justified by this Shaman. He didn't seem to realise how important this was to her at first, but then he made a strange gesture. He put his hoof on her chest... Suddenly Virtue realised she was standing way too close to Ezekiel. She stepped back and blushed, embarrassed. "I'm sorry." She uttered, and she looked away from Ezekiels piercing eyes for a moment. "Thank you for sharing this knowledge with me." She muttered. She felt saved by Chip, who had approached just in time for her to change subject, saying something about a cannon and a sample of the virus for Dashia's mom. "A sample of the virus? What are you taking about? What do you guys have planned?" She asked Chip.

@Steel Accord Virtue seemed a bit confused now. As if she didn't expect that answer. "But it's bit like everypony is constantly having nightmares. I mean I have trouble sleeping sometimes but I can't remember a spirit intruding my dreams..." For a moment there was doubt in her mind. Perhaps there was this one time... "But besides appearing in dreams, which I assume is a rare occurrence. Is there any other way..." Virtue stepped a bit closer to Ezekiel, again showing this strange shyness and concern, as if nopony else was supposed to hear this. "To perceive spirits. I know you can see them, but would I be able to feel their presence? Their emotion?" There was hope in her eyes. As if this question had been a burden of hers for a long time.

@Steel Accord Virtue watched with a look of Childlike wonder and amazement in her eyes. The shapes and motions in the mist had all of her attention. When the draconic image of fire appeared, she stumbled back slightly, since she had been fully consumed with the strange shapes in the smoke. "Wow..." She sighed, taking a moment to think. "But..." again she hesitated. Was she gong to tell this Zebra secrets about her past like a hopelessly gullible little filly? No. "Hm... nevermind." She fell silent for a moment, but then another question urged her to ask more. "If the spirits took the place of Luna and Celestia, is therea possibility that they appear in your dreams?"

@@Steel Accord Virtue "That's amazing!" She exclaimed, excited by both the shaman's story and his trick with the green sediment. "I knew that the spirits came into existance because of the apocalypse, but I never knew they actually filled the void of spiritual power! How do those spirits work? Are they sentient beings or do they have an entirely different perception of this world?" For a moment she paused, not sure if she was supposed to ask this question. "Are there... spirits of darkness too? Spirits of the shadows? Or is it just the basic elements of the world..."

@@Steel Accord Virtue Verdant looked at the Zebra for a moment. [barter 65]"I have a monopoly on medical supplies and procedures. Why would I lower my prices? Everypony comes to me anyways! I'm not in for making a tidy profit, and I'm not keen on trusting random ponies. You'll pay full price! You should be glad Virtuosity pays for you instead." With those words he went inside again. Virtue looked at Ezekiel. "Don't mind him. He can be trusted, he's just not very reasonable." She smiled, and inspected Ezekiel. "Don't you need your wounds tended to as well?" She asked him, a little confused that he didn't ask Verdant to treat him as well. "Well... If you think you don't need it. I did have some questions though... About spirits. They interest me, but I never really understood what they were, or how they came into existance. I saw one once... It was terrifying, but beautiful at the same time. Can you tell me about them?" She asked him, smiling lightly, curious, but somehow also a bit shy, as if she wasn't sure what to expect from the zebra, and if she'd like the answers he would give her. Greshken Still sweating and breathing heavily, Greshken felt the radiation sickness decreasing. He'd be at full capacity again in no time. For now, he still felt awfully sick though. As if he had a terrible fever.

Virtue Virtue smiled lightly at Dashia. "My name isn't Virtuosity, but like I said, it's what I'm called around here. It is indeed one of my personal traits, and my cutie mark is indeed a result of my musical skills. You could say I'm a 'musician', but what doest that word even mean in the wasteland..." She looked away with a bitter expresion on her face. "No one cares about culture these days." When Dashia mentioned the coordinates of 'cloudsdale', they didn't point towards the ruins of the city that every pegasus holds dearly in their hearts. It actually gave the location name 'Hellhound sanctuary', which she found very confusing at the least. "Hellhound sanctuary? What do you mean home? That sounds like a death trap!" She exclaimed. That was when they walked into Ricto. Subtle and charming as always... or perhaps the opposite of that. Virtue was about to speak up and deal with Ricto her way, when Dashia provided Crackshot with proof in the form of a helmet, and Crackshot carried it along and entered Ricto's house. There was no reason to assume Crackshot couldn't take care of it himself, so Virtue kept leading the way to the medical centre. When they arrived at the door, she turned around. Dashia and her little friend had gone elsewhere, presumably the shop Chip had been talking about. Crackshot had left to talk to Ricto, so the only two remaining were Ezekiel and the giant minotaur. Doing all she could to hide the discomfort she felt around the giant beast, she laughed. "Well, I doubt you'll be able to go inside..." she mumbled, gesturing towards the door that was made for creatures of pony size, not minotaurs. "Or comfortably at least. I'll ask if Verdant can come outside for you..." She proposed, referring to one of the best medics in town that she knew personally. With that, she entered the building. Not very long afterwards she came outside with a light grey coated unicorn, with bright green eyes and a salt-and-pepper mane. A small brushy moustache was proudly kept on his muzzle. He was wearing a lab coat covered in stains of blood. It was open, and underneath it he wore a silly checkered sweater. He looked at the minotaur for a moment, sighed and asked him without a trace of fear. "What's your problem..." Greshken Without saying a word, Greshken walked along with virtue to the small building that was ponyvilles medical centre. It couldn't be much, since this was a raider town, but it was better than nothing. If they had to they could just buy a bunch of radaway from the place, it would quickent he degradation of rads in his body significantly. He'd rather have a removal procedure however, since that was the quickest way. Virtue was kind enough to bring Doc Verdant outside for him. He grunted one single sentance when asked what the problem was. "I am suffering from radiation sickness, and I wish it to be removed." Greshken hoped the price wouldn't be too high, but he was certain that he could convince the doctor treat him if he didn't have sufficient caps. Verdant, like-minded with the minotaur, didn't say a word either. He simply went inside again, and came outside with a strange looking injection needle. It was huge, and it didn't look very well-cleaned. When Verdant grabbed Greshken's arm, he hesitated for a moment. To this, Verdant raised a brow. "You aren't scared of needles are you?" he snickered at him. The stare of death that Greshken replied with shut him up immediately. Without flinching, Greshken endured the procedure of purging the rads from his body. Three injections later, and Greshken felt himself heating up. He was sweating considerably more. "What is this? I've never felt a procedure like this before... What have you done?" He asked the doctor. He replied with a smile. "It's a medicine of my own making. It works quicker, and it disposes of the waste through your sweat. You have nothing to fear." he coughed, then placed a rad-meter against Greshkens chest. "There, see! It's already lowered to 400 rads in a few seconds! That'll be 150 bits." He said jovially, holding out his hoof expecting payment. Greshken, still a bit dazed by the sudden overheating of his body, looked at him a bit confused. "Please tell me you do have something to pay with..." he said, his face turning from amused to angry. Virtue stepped in however. "No worries Verdant, I'll pay for this one." she said, and winked at the middle-aged stallion. "You sure?" He said, a bit surprised with her generosity. "Yes, I've still got four free treatments left right? Make that three then... I believe there are more who seek treatment. They'll come here in a minute I think. I'll pay for them too." Virtue seemed content with herself, but the stallion was confused. "If you say so..." He eventualy accepted, and then went back into the medical office.

@@Unicorncob Virtue Finally letting her excitement go, virtue put a hoof to her mouth and giggled like a filly. Again she recomposed herself, but couldn't help smiling at her own cleverness. "You can call me Virtuosity... for now. And hopefully you can call me your companion as well." She looked back at Ezekiel, the mechanic, the other pegasus and the hulking minotaur. "Yes... Virtuosity, your companion." She repeated herself towards them. "I can do far more than just remain unnoticed though. I prize myself for my ability to strategize and plan ahead. Do not get this confused with being organized however. I can be pure chaos at times." She laughed at herself, and then realized she was rambling a little. "But ehm..." She got back to business at hoof, which was a far too pressing matter to be lollygagging around. "Really though, what's your plan. Do you know where to go? Or are you still recovering from your previous endeavour?" She said, looking at the still ever so devastated and wounded group as before. "What in the spirits name am I doing! I'm slowling you down! We need to get to a doctor right away, I'm so sorry..." She said, as she already began moving to the nearest medical facility. When the pegasus mentioned going to cloudsdale, Virtue went pale. "I can't go to cloudsdale..." She mumbled at her. "I... No. If you go there I'll just hang around on the ground for a while, perhaps scout a little." She explained. Quickly trying to change the subject, she questioned the pegasus. "I didn't quite catch your name though? And this cyberpony project sounds fascinating! What exactly does it mean?" Greshken A little surprised at the Zebra's confidence, Greshken let it slide for now. Then the mare had finally finished speaking, and started moving for the place they had been searching for for quite a while now. She had introduced herself as Virtuosity. It was an Old World name, and her cutiemark was one of a lineage from a long time ago, when music and culture was still in production. He wondered what else Virtuosity had hidden behind her strange façade. Fickle as her personality was, she could be anything. Everything she was doing could be an act... Yet he felt like he should trust her. And so he did.

Virtue As if she had waited for Crackshot to say it, she grinned at him slyly. "Right. Close your eyes for two seconds. Just two will be more than enough. No need to be afraid, you've got your entire company of friends behind you." She said convincingly [100 speech]. As soon as Crackshot did close his eyes, even though it was for a very short time Virtue took off into the air completely silently. No fluttering of wings or shuffling of feathers. No gust of wind blowing anyponies face. Nothing. Soon, she was floating right behind and above Crackshot, outside of his field of vision. If he were to suddendly turn around, she would manuever with him to make sure she stayed out of sight. Holding her hoof to her lips, she smiled playfully at Crackshots friends, hoping that they didn't let anything slip on where she actually was. [sneak: At least over 120 (several bonusses)] [Crackshot perception 4] As soon as she was behind him, she proceeded to very carefully slip out 'persuasion' his combat shotgun, from its holster. She successfully managed to take it without him noticing it, even though he was looking all around for her. Even though she was about to burst out in laughter at this, she made sure she didn't make a sound. Finally, she took persuasion in her two forehooves, still flying behind Crackshot's head. She aimed the shotgun in a different direction, making sure it was clear that she wasn't going to shoot Crackshot. *Click* the sound of a combat shotgun cocking broke the silence, followed by a soft whisper. "Boom...". Crackshot would most likely turn around to look at her, and she didn't move this time. All she did was toss the shotgun on the ground before him, and land on her hooves again, still making no sound whatsoever. She hoped the stallion could appreciate the joke. If he wasn't, she had purposefully misloaded the weapon so if would jam slightly next time he would try to fire it, giving her enough time to jump to safety. "That, is what I have to offer." She said, a grin appearing on her face, almost starting to feel like she had to take a bow. Of course, she could provide much more than that, but this was mainly what they could expect from her.

@@Unicorncob Virtue Virtue didn't like Crackshot the way he was now. He seemed rather quickly agitated. She made a mental note of that. He also wasn't prone to her natural charm. That was a very strange exception, which made her believe his barn door swinged the other way. At any rate, she changed her approach slightly. "I didn't meant to agitate you, but you seem quite... unorganised. Your plan is simply to track down the delinquents and kill them? While they posess one of the most deadly and horrifying weapons in the wasteland? No offense, but I think you could use some coördination." She said with an admitting, almost apologetic tone, as if she really didn't want to offend him any further. Looking back at ezekiel, she took off her ranger hat and put it to her chest similarly to him. "Around here I am called Virtuosity, though go by many names in other places." She said, with a sense of mystery going through her voice. "A pleasure to meet you Ezekiel. You seem far more reasonable than your compatriots. Could you perhaps explain to me what you were planning to do once you found your target? Or how to even track down the source of the virus?" She asked him, expecting him to be much more cooperative. Greshken As Dashia explained herself, Greshken listened only slightly. Eventually he simply said; "Very well..." And left it at that. Then the clever zebra had to open his mouth again. "I do not have to explain myself to you, but my perpetual agression is very much warranted against her people. Against all of these ponies..." he looked around the raider town in disgust. "But you, you are different. You annoy me, yet you follow a similar path. You fight honorably, and speak the truth. You see the world like it is... I like that." He said to the Zebra. "It makes me sad to see such a powerful spirit in such a frail body. But such is life." He said, slightly melancholic.

@@Steel Accord Virtue Surprised with Ezekiel's sudden revealance, she stepped back at first, a bit shocked, but then stepped forward again and studied him closely. Shamans weren't very common in these parts of the wasteland. They were very useful in the off chance that you did have an encounter with a rogue spirit. Or at least so she had heard. "A shaman. Then you must be knowledgeable! Very knowledgeable." She was about to ask more questions, feeling her excitement in her throat, but she hesitated. "I... I would ask further. I am terribly interested, but there's more pressing matters. I suppose your name would have to do for now..." She said. Turning back to Crackshot, she got right to business. "Right. What exactly do you know about the Virus? What are you going to do about the virus? What is your plan, and how do I get in on it?" She grinned coyly at him. "Trust me, you'll be glad you have me on board." Looking up at the flying pegasus, who had noticed her discomfort with as she her flying abilities, she simply muttered. "No thanks... I'm fine." Although she wasn't very convincing, she clearly didn't want to talk about it. Greshken As if punched in the face, Greshken looked at Dashia as if she were something disgusting. "How could you possibly let go of your own body, your last connection to the earthly world and life itself! I find it repulsing! To fabricate weapons... Fine. To replace limbs and organs out of nescessity... Perhaps, though I frown upon it." He looked away from Dashia as if she were a reeking abomination. "But willingly leaving ones body and soul behind... Simply abhoreable..." He muttered, and decided to ignore the pegasus for now.