Bringing the Goods (Invite only)

Collat let out a sigh of relief now that the argument had passed. Adjusting the grip on the bag around his shoulder, he looked at Jasmine. He knew her from an assignment in Stableton not long before, where she was badly injured because of his, well, rather his gun's failure.

"Alright, ready to move.

Hark herself rolled her eyes, being slightly annoyed at the presence of children in the caravan. If they were to be attacked by, say, raiders, they would be prime targets for the more... unscrupulous things they did. Plus, to witness death (perhaps for the first time) has quite the effect on one's mind. Hark began to suspect she was letting her own emotions get in the way of her reasoning, so she stopped thinking and exhaled loudly. She had not let go of her sack this entire time as she glanced around the group.

"I suppose I'm ready to head out as well," she said in a slightly more sullen tone.

The filly looked over at Aura then back to Mad and shook her head at the diamond dog "Wanna ride." She held her hooves up to be put back up on his shoulder and stuck her tongue out at Bones. She looked over at Jazzy with a smile as she bounced aorund her "Sweep weww?"

The little colt was filled with amazing joy at the touch of the hoof and giggled happily as he looked around at Spectre and the others as Aura set off in her travels. He still didn't feel like talking to anyone even though he liked the pegasus colt and the zebra.

Aura looked over at Mad and sighed "Once my little Red Void wants something she won't stop till she gets it. So you might as well just let her ride on your shoulder." She looked to the rest of the group and smiled "OKay everyone, time to earn those caps. Also if I don't find the exact amount of chems in your bags I put in their the price is deducted from your pay." She smiled looking around, they may seem nice but heck they were smugglers. She walked over and held out an extra bag to Jazzy "Here you can carry this bag." She turned around and started walking "ON point are Spectre, Mad, and myself. Now let's get moving you ponies."

Bone ignored the filly as he tied the bag around his mid section like a saddlebag. He did take note of aura's threat to reduce pay however. If this journey went off without incident and the griffin didn't find a use for the vile of dash during it, then he would replace the chem upon delivery. Until then however the little inhailer was going to stay tucked away in his sleeve where he could easily access it. Bone head started walking behind the others mumbling, "About bloody time." Under his breath.

Mek couldn't help but take a glance at the filly when Aura mentioned her name. Red Void wasn't exactly the nicest sounding name, or the happiest. He pondered how Aura had given birth to this filly, seeing as how Aura wielded her feminism like a sword and shield. "If ya insist, Aura. C'mere Red, you'z gonna be da only filly ta ever see how runty everypony looks from me point of view." He said as he scooped the filly back up and deposited her on his shoulder. He felt at home with the unsavory characters that made up his group. Except for Hark and Topaz, he felt like they stood out, both in terms of gear and disposition. When the bullets started flying, he would see what they were made of. He trudged along beside Aura, ready for action at a moment's notice.

"Yes ma'am."

Collat pulled his bag into a more comfortable position, listening to Aura saying something about a 'reduction' of pay. It's not like he really needed to worry. He had been drug free for over two years at the time, but suddenly found himself thinking back to the days when he was into them. A child soldier up north, him and his group of friends did various sorts of drugs all the time. A bunch of young fools. That is until the pegasus quit, and cleaned himself up.... for the most part anyway...

Spectre walked with the group, back to his previous self, if they hadn't all just seen it, nopony would think he gave a damn about anything, as he heard he would be on point with Aura and Mek he simply nodded, moving up front. He kept a sharp eye out for even the slightest bit of movement, ready to react as soon as he saw a threat. He kept a small hope that this journey would go without incident. But he knew that was unlikely, so very unlikely, so he hoped everypony else here was a capable fighter. They all looked it at least.

Shemik kept to himself for most of the way. He had little to say as far as the kids were concerned, the little ones seemed to find amusement in the diamond dog, and he seemed to not mind very much. He did not underestimated Black's mother instinct. Experience taught him how getting between mother and her offspring was dangerous business.

Still. It kept the two little nuisances occupied, and hopefully out of trouble. Shemik took place at the rear of the column, staying silent, keeping watch of anything followed them. Hopefully things would be uneventful. He had no taste for ending in shoot-out with two foals to look for.

Topaz picked up her bag and took a deep breath "Alright, let's go" While Topaz is walking along though, everytime she looked at the foals it reminded her brother that he must be around scavenging around the wasteland now. She remember those days with her little brother. Then she came back to her senses when she heard Aura and she wasn't worried about using any drugs, well because she never did drugs or anything of that sort. Topaz continues walking on Aura's side and looks at the grey colored pegasus, thinking if he had a interesting story behind him."

Jasmine nodded to Aura and picked up the bag containing... was it... Chemistry supplies? Whatever they were called. The mare in charge did appear to be willing to pay her for her service, and seeing the reaction of the others- simply running away at this time would probably provoke more unwanted suspicion... At this time it was probably better to just lay low and cooperate until the right moment.

"Alrighty, at your thervithe!" Jasmine managed to muffle out as she held the cloth between her teeth. Perhaps if she managed to get on the leader's good side it would ensure her safety in the long run.

As the group set out on their three day journey, the group of junkies arrived at location in Manehatten along the lines the group would be taking. There were a good sized chunk of them there, all wanting their different fixes.

While the group started, the filly looked down around finally being bigger then something in her life, besides her borther "WOW, this is so wool." she felt and eagerness for the trip and never really left Loosa at all so this was the kids first trip ever. The colt simply sat on his mom as she walked looking over at Spectre like he was something amazing. Having never seen a zebra before.He finally spoke up in a small little squeaky voice that sounded like a filly's "Hi, I'm Silver Life." When she heard her brother tlak the filly cried out "I'm Red Void, cause my horn glows red, and the little shy ones glows silver."

Spectre walked alongside Aura, well aware of the fact the little colt was looking at him. Really he found it kind of irritating. It was almost like a natural thing. Spectre preferred to be unseen, he was an assassin, assassins weren't meant to be seen till it was too late, or even then not at all. But Spectre needed the caps, and as such had taken to less stealthy work.

He listened to the little colt give his name, followed by the filly. "Spectre... And do not worry about being shy, it's good practice for remaining silent and unseen, Silver. Don't take it as a bad thing, just work to overcome your shyness." Spectre gave a short chuckle. "I used to be shy. Till I learned I could just kill ponies instead, one led to the other in a way..."

Mek, as a dog, would have preferred if the filly kept quiet, just for the sake of his ears. "It'z okay ta be shy, hell, Ah was shy when Ah first came to over a cent'ry an' a half ago. Ah didn't have a clue why Ah looked the way Ah do or why everypony hated me fer it. Ah avoided smoothskins like yerself like da plague, an' eventually Ah came to realize dat Ah was betta off wand'rin' than settlin' down. 'Less o' course Ah find me special somepony out dere in da wastes, dat's diff'rent." He slowly said, apparently taking little joy in reminiscing. His head swiveled around to face Spectre. "Now dat's something Ah can agree wif Specta. Believe it o' not, Ah once crushed a stallion's skull between me bare hands, da way ya would crush a can o' SparkleCola, jus' because he called me a zombie. Neva heard from 'im since." He said, stifling a chuckle after his last sentence. He hoped to Luna that someone would get his macabre joke.

Bone head was staying quite for the most part. It was a long journey and the group could converse when they stopped to make camp. However he couldn't help but stifle a laugh at mek's joke. "I would hope you wouldn't here from him after that. Of course if I was you then I would have tossed him into a radiation pit somewhere. If he survived then he'd have no room to be calling you a zombie anymore." The griffin reached into his armor and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Removing one of the long strips of sealed tobacco and placing it in his beak before lighting it. "Care for one?" The griffin offered as he held the pack up to mek.

Collat was appalled by the grim humor and advice they were giving to such a small child, but he kept to himself. They were right, in an aspect, it was probably best to start them young, but Mek didn't need to talk about smashing a head like a soda can, or Bone about throwing somepony into a radiation pit... He would rather try and keep the foal in a sound state of mind, preferably something away from exploding heads and death by radiation. Sure, the entire wasteland in itself was just a bad place to raise young, but it can at least be made just a bit easier on the foal.

Then there was that arid stench. A cigarette. Collat hated them, shrivelling up his muzzle and coughing several times as the grey smoke floated back towards him. He walked out of its path, to some fresher air, but the smell persisted.

Aura felt a relief that they were finally moving with everyone moving along. She kept her bag well adjusted to her body with a few constant tugs on the straps. She smiled hearing her little colt speak up for the first time on the trip. She looked o er at Red "Be nice to your brother." She knew they fought sometimes but Red didn't get the idea that her brother was shy about his shyness.

She looked forward again hearing the males finally speak up on the trip. She found Spectre was a bit harsh but had just the right amount of levelness in his voice along with meaning. She found his commentssd a bit much but forgivable, but Mad and Bones made her angry at them and in general. She tapped her pistol in her barding with her magic as she grabed Red off of Mad's shoulder and trotted up ahead to escape the smoke of the careless and filthy male griffin.

Shemik was silently trotting in the back, listening to the conversation. He would probably have few things to add for the points given to the little colt. Shyness... mheh. Then came the cigarette, and Shemik found himself in need of a fresh air. For the first time in week he was out of the stench of Loosa's pits, and he was sure to enjoy it while it lasted.

Shemik he passed Mek and the griffin, he smiled at both a warm smile. "Gents, I hope I will not see either of you smoking after dark." He looked forward and closed in on Black's back. He looked at the filly riding on her and smiled. The smile was the same he gave the two behind them, but... this time, there was a spark of honesty in it.

"Hello there, little one. Heard the talk about shyness. It's good thing to have. It teaches restraint, and being kareful. Very valuable things to have in life, trust me. And it makes you sensitive to others' feelings too. Another thing you want to have if you wish to konduct good business. Don't be afraid to not be passionate, and to see things twice before thinking about them. Makes things look klearer. Good for life, and keeping it."

Mek glanced at the cigarette being offered to him, and shook his head in response. He didn't feel like smoking yet. That only came after a fight. He felt Red's weight lifted off of his shoulder, and he couldn't blame Aura for it. He tended to speak his mind, no matter who was listening. He took a few suspicious looks around, eyes peeled for any activity. He didn't like Aura moving ahead of the group, especially with her children in tow. All it took was a well-planned ambush and Aura and her ilk would be shredded. "Aura, dis 'ere a caravan route?" He asked, plasma pistol unholstered. He was ready to shoot at anything that even remotely looked like a raider.

Topaz remained silent and calm for now anyways...
She looked at the yellow pegasus wondering how did she got in the bag without anypony noticing....Though, Topaz tends to slide off topic when she's not paying attention to anything. Topaz wanted to talk to somepony she could start talking with The yellow pegasus, but of course she remembers that she's still doing a job. She walks to the yellow pegasus and smiles at her "Hello, I'm Topaz Edge, what's your name?" Topaz wasn't that nervous on speaking to her now that she's technically used to talk to anypony at the moment.

Jasmine trotted along with the bag slung over her shoulder, teeth gripping firmly into the cloth of the bag. She couldn't help but giggle at the two foals that belonged to the caravan leader. Not only were they helpful previously, but they were adorable. As she watched them she slowly found herself to be more comfortable around the group- despite the talk of killing. She shrugged the killing off, knowing from her past experience that sometimes killing was necessary in the right circumstances.

A voice brought her attention to the side of her, it seems that one of the carivan ponies addressed her. Jasmine gave a slight bounce sending the bag to the middle of her back, wings folding up slightly to balance the package in the middle of her.

"Well it'th a delight meeting you Topazth! My name ith Jathmine, and it'th wonderful meeting you ath well!" Jasmine had harly any trouble getting into conversations with unfamiliar ponies, and her energy showed this from her- especially from the rhythm and tone of her words. Her eyes shifted downwards to notice a pip buck on her forehoof. "Oh my goodneth! It look'th like another former thtable dweller ith right bethide me! I altho uthed to live in a thtable!"

Topaz is very surprised on knowing that the yellow pegasus told her she was from a stable as well. She felt now that she's not the only one. "Nice to meet you, Jasmine, right? Never knew I could meet up another stable pony especially a stable pegasus." Also Topaz noticed that Jasmine spoke in a very unique way when she pronouced the "S" words, but Topaz doesn't wanted to be rude on talking about the way Jasmine speaks.

As the group had walked Spectre has slowly distanced himself from the others, not too far, but the closest pony to him was probably about 15 feet away now. He didn't like being too close to others, especially not when he didn't fully trust them not to stab him in the back. Then again there was only one pony he trust that much, and even then it was only just. Spectre kept a sharp eye on his surroundings, looking out for even the slightest of movements, as he always did. The zebra could spot the difference between a rock and a creature lurking in all but the darkest conditions.

In a way he hoped some raiders or junkies would try something... It had been a while since he'd killed anything, but at the same time he didn't want any trouble, since he couldn't really use his skills to their full advantage here.

The group would travel for the three days to reach Manehatten with it's run down buildings and rather horrible screams in the city itself. About a mile away from the city the group would come along a pony laying in the middle of the road.

His skin was tight against his bones and stretched as he move din his sleep. He awoke when he heard them come near him. The eyes of this poor pony were so blood shot that you couldn't even see the white of his iris, there was nothing but red around his pupils. There were needle marks all over his skin from repeated abuse of Med-X. He had a machette near his head. He put a hoof on it facing the group then simply said "Drugs?"

Spectre had spotted the pony from far away, and had approached cautiously, ahead of the others slightly with his pistol drawn. As the pony stirred and reached for the machete, Spectre simple pointed his gun to the ponies head. "Try it... See how long your brains stay inside your head. You move that hoof another inch and you wont live to see your next thought come to fruition." He smiled down at the pony maliciously, deciding if he should live past this moment anyway...

"Now... We, are going to walk past you. You, are going to do nothing, not move, not even breath more than you need to. There is nothing you want here." Spectre kept his pistol leveled at the pony on the floor as he motioned for the group to move past, not once taking his eyes off the drug addicted thing.