Streetwise-ish. (For Mel.)

[Mary Forest]

it didn't really sink in for her how used she was to loneliness until now. The street was busy with the mid day rush of people going wherever it was they were heading. Mary was having a hard time relaxing. by which she meant she'd found herself a seat on a low wall and was watching everyone like a hawk, her knee bouncing and one of her hands on the hilt of her knife. she honestly couldn't help it, it felt like it didn't make sense not to be cautious or paranoid.

How long had it been since she hadn't had to wonder if that person approaching was a murderer. or a Furrina. or rotting. long enough that she couldn't stop wondering, which was oh so good for her. Whatever, she'd get the stuff she came here for then get out within the week. this place was a gilded cage with an open door. the illusion of reward for staying trapped when freedom was there the moment you wanted it.

Man she hated this city.

Oh whatever. Mary tilted her head back to stare at the cloudless sky. She'd find a bed for the night, force herself to sleep early, and get out before noon. She could be ten miles from this spot before noon. the thought made her smile. And it distracted her enough that she only just managed to not crash straight into someone going the other way. she came to a stop centimetres from the other persons face.

"heh. my bad." she offered with a sheepish grin. goodness that had been stupid. why did she keep doing stupid things like this? it was becoming a trend.

[Erika Paige]

It was the last thing Erika had expected as she walked down the street. Okay, so maybe not. She didn't spend and awfully lot of time out in the open, save from walking back and forth between the hospital. Her mother had made it clear that Erika had no place out among the citizen - partly because of the risks and partly because her mother thought all these people were beneath them. Naturally, Erika didn't agree, but up until now, she hadn't really argued it (much). But now that she'd moved out of her mother's place, well...

Her eyes widened as she looked at the stranger and automatically her muscles tensed. She was wary of new people. She always had been. She figured it was normal in this kind of world. You never knew if a person would jump out and slash your throat the first chance they got.

This girl looked nice enough though. "No worries," Erika replied with an easy smile and shrugged her shoulders. "I should have seen where I was going." It wasn't just the girl's fault, after all. That much Erika could easily admit to.

[Mary Forest]

Oh hey she was being nice about it, awesomeness. Relaxing, Mary nodded in agreement and shoved her hands in her pockets. "At least we stopped short right? There was one time I was so busy looking at a map I ended up face planting a ditch." She grinned, the bit about the map had been a lie, she'd been chasing a guy and trying her hardest to kill him, but she thought that wasn't the type of thing you told someone seconds after meeting them.

now she'd said something resembling an ice breaker she couldn't just wonder off as suddenly as she'd had liked to, so with nothing else really to say Mary pulled her cantina out and offered it, "want some water?" That was the cities only selling point, she could drink water until it made her want to be sick if she wanted to.

"I ain't drank from it yet if you're worried i'm rotting." Mary added, trying and failing to be reassuring about it. "I'm Mary by the way." she added as a casual afterthought.

[Erika Paige]

Smiling awkwardly, Erika wasn't entirely sure why this girl was telling her this, but she figured it was better than being yelled out. "Ha, yeah, I guess this is better," she said and smiled. Then again, she usually found these kind of encounters to be rather awkward. In most cases, you'd expect the person to say their piece and move on.

Instead, the both of them simply stood there, trying to hit up some kind of conversation and it felt somewhat forced. Oh well.

Shaking her head at the offer, Erika offered the girl another friendly and easy smile. "No thank you." She patted the side of her belt where her own canteen was. After all, although her life had been mostly sheltered, she knew enough not to walk outside in this kind of heat without water.

At the latter part, Erika chuckled. "No, it's fine." Lifting her hand, Erika combed her fingers through her hair, her brown eyes never once leaving the other girl. "Erika."

[Mary Forest]

So much for icebreaker, yeah this lady was still feeling awkward about things and Mary was pretty sure she'd only made things worse. great, now what? It was obvious now she really should have just headed straight off and forgotten all about this lady. stupid brain, this was all its fault. The woman had a nice smile though if nothing else.

Mary stood there for a bit trying to decide what was even going on here, first impressions counted for a lot, so she could only imagine what kind of idiot they thought she was after this junk. "Cool, more for me then." Mary said cheerfully, taking a long swig from it instead, savouring the refreshment. Oh hey she'd actually managed to get a laugh, maybe she wasn't as bad at this as she'd feared. "Nice ta meet ya Erika." Mary felt Erika's eyes on her the entire time, and found it amusing. it was so obvious she wasn't sure how to deal with her.

Ten got you twenty she was a total shut in. Mary wondered if there was anything to do with that realisation that could keep her entertained for the rest of the day and started an improvised brainstorm....

[Erika Paige]

A chuckle bubbled through the brunette's lips and she nodded. "Yes, I suppose so. That's a good way to look at it," she said, her smile softening. She could appreciate people with a clear mind, and in truth, the girl was right, even though Erika doubted she thought of it that way. At least she'd offered. Not many people did in this kind of world. "Likewise, Mary," she returned. Yes, the girl was a little odd, but in a way, Erika found it to be a nice change of pace.

Far too many people were so serious these days. It was... Nice to have someone who seemed to have a lighter view on things.

"Not many people would share their water," she mused out loud. "I'm glad there's still some decent people left in the city." Again, she offered the other girl a warm smile. If anything, she deserved the recognition.

[Mary Forest]

Well things seemed to have finally gotten better, about time and all, there was only so much awkwardness Mary was willing to put up with in a day after all. She put the cantina back on her belt and shrugged in modesty. "eh i guess. Just trying to see the bright side right?" Mary wasn't very good with taking compliments, not used to it in the slightest.

Which didn't help when Erika continued to be nice to her, Mary blushed and shook her head lightly, "it's not a big deal. just water you know." she protested, but smiling enough to make it clear she appreciated it. she hadn't considered it as anything more then her trying to be nice, she had just assumed most people were the same way after all. "And i'm not from the city, or anywhere really." she corrected, not liking the idea of people thinking she was a citizen of this place. "Just passing through." It was obvious that Erika was a nice person, for once it'd worked out pretty well to try the whole social interaction thing.