Exchange greetings.

“Hi.” You reply, straightening your back.

The man shifts his body until he’s sitting straight. He trains his gaze on you and your attire. He leans in with an emotionless expression. Scarlet is soon ground-level with the rest of you. She looks at Kenji and then at you. She fidgets and taps the stock of your rifle. She hands it back after emptying it. “Did Flora pick good?”

Kenji stands up. He’s taller than you thought. He approaches Scarlet and plucks some woodland debris from her hair. His brows knit. In a way it kinda looks like he’s taking care of a younger sister, despite them looking like the the same age. He looks at you and blinks. “You don’t look awful.”

“Thanks,” you say. “My living situation was better before though. I didn’t know y’all were living like rabbits.”

Scarlet crosses her arms. “I never told you this was going to be luxurious.”

“Whatever." You say. "Where the others? I was told there was supposed to be more of you.”

“Out still. They’ll be back later tonight.” Kenji returned to the dusty couch and started coughing. Scarlet shifted her legs and started to stare at him awkwardly. He started to groan and hold his side.

“Are you sick?” Scarlet asks, but offers no kind of help.

“I got kicked in the ribs.” He paused. “And thrown around like a rag doll in my last **** run into Billings.”

Scarlet sighs. “So, you got caught?”

“Not by the police,” he follows. “Just...just some competition, yeah? No need to worry about it.”

Even though there’s some questions lingering in the air, it seems no one is brave enough to catch and ask any of them; especially you, who now has the infamous “FNG” title. Luckily, no one has the energy to either tease or talk to you. You mostly lounge around until nightfall, picking pebbles from the ground and throwing it on the dirt wall and chewing on century old oats and candies. Kenji mostly sleeps, only to wake up heaving every so often. Scarlet offers to help when this happens, but all she does hold him, slowly feeding him the medicine "Flora" made. His speech gets weird, but they take for a few minutes before he passes out again. This hole situation is making you anxious, but you're too far in to back out now, so you stick around until night, when the dead line for the others to arrive is supposed to close in.

Being underground didn't exactly offer any kind of insight on the time of day, but when you heard the hatch opening you assumed it was going to be the rest of the ARS. There's some dry laughs and chatter as the ladder shifts and cracks somewhat. The first voice you notice is a girls. It's light, airy, and inviting. Another voice, which also sounded as though it was woman's came from the ladder. It was a little higher, but not nearly as light or inviting. One by one, the voices came into view.

Two girls turned, their smiles quickly faded when they saw you. If it weren't for Scarlet or Kenji being in the same room, you are sure they one of them would have already attacked or shot you by now. Scarlet exchanges a few greetings to them, but they don't reply.

"Who's your new friend?" The girl with the light voice asks. Her bright, hazel eyes train on yours. They narrow into thin slits, and her lips tighten.

"Scarlet's arrived with, uh, help." Kenji explained, sitting up again. "But, before we talk about that...Where's Amari?"

"Never came with us," the same girls says. Her eyes haven't left yours. "She was doing some trading with another clan off East deeper in the Heights area. We won't be seeing her for another week, perhaps longer if she tries to flirt a deal in with whoever is up there."

She blinks, looking at Kenji. "Is my medicine working for you?" Ah, so that must be Flora...Her hair is bobbed like Delilah's but not messy and unkempt, it's also held together in some places with pins. She's the shortest one here, but is no twig. Well-built like the rest, but twice as intelligent. Kenji starts to explain his symptoms to her. She walks over and sits on the couch.

The other girl, now known as Alexandra steps towards Scarlet to chat. Their conversation is hushed. Every so often one of the girls look over at you. They have no smiles on their lips. Alexandra pulls out a sheet of paper and runs her pinky finger down a drawn list, voicing a few concerns about a subject you have no knowledge about. You stand awkwardly in the middle. You're the new kid that no one wants to know apparently. On the bright side, this has given you freedom to choose what to do next!