Contamination

[The Past]

Geoff was too focused on Xander's aggression to register Nishjin's question until he noticed his eyes upon him.
He opened his mouth halfway through thought, then changed his mind with a sheepish shrug. He felt there was nothing worth the effort to explain right then, plus the guy seemed odd and possibly facetious.
Seeing yet another person down the road brought up the tension. This was more people than Geoff saw in a decade, all in one place. His urge to leave was stifled by hope he'd find at least one person to partner with until he had proper equipment and know-how. He was a child compared to these hardened survivors, preserved in innocence while the rest were left to rot.

[Nishjin]

Nodding to the bear, Nishjin says "You and everyone else. I guess I'm the only one with a good backstory..."
He mutters the last part under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.
"You don't talk much, do you? I can respect that, but you should be careful. I've seen plenty of people get into fights because they were mad that some dude didn't like a lack of response. Then again, you probably haven't seen anybody in ages. The way you came from is pretty much abandoned."
Nishjin takes his muddy backpack off and starts rummaging through it, finally bringing out a pair of huge brass knuckles. This bear didn't seem to want to warm up to him, even though he was a likable guy. "Here, have these. They're too big for me, but when I found them I thought I'd keep them. They look like they'd fit you." Holding the knuckles out to the bear, Nishjin hoped the bear wouldn't knock him out with them. Some people couldn't appreciate a good personality when they saw one, and didn't seem to like him. That didn't matter though, he'd knocked sense into most haters in fights. But this guy was pretty big...

[David Le Fox]

"Oh come on, you tryin' to tell me that if someone breaks into your home you're just going to sit down and have a friendly little chat? Maybe offer them some tea? Hell, now that I know you're friendly... Kinda, we can share supplies, hey wait, where's my manners, I'm Connor, nice to meet you all.

[Grovygrunge]

"Alright, sure. I suppose that's fair, if you ignore the fact I have little to share." He paused for a second and looked over the group. There were far too many people just standing out in the open.

[David Le Fox]

"I've got water... Uhm" *Connor rummages through the bag, then places it on the ground and continues searching the bag, the contents inside clinking together as he digs through the items* "Aaaannnddd a bag of 7 apples..."

[Nishjin]

'What are these guys talking about sharing? I'm giving a gift, not all my supplies. I just met these guys, I'm not going out of my way to help them...'
Rolling his eyes, Nishjin throws the brass knuckles towards the bear, not paying attention to see if he catches them.
"By the way, I don't think I caught any of your names. I'm Nishjin."

[Kromas Ndorai]

Kromas continued advancing up the road, slowing to a far slower pace than before, however. Upon trying to distinguish the people ahead, he realized that he was still too far out to be able to make out too much. However, there was a few, and there did not seem to be any violent proceedings. Good. As he continued walking, he took out his canteen, and tried to drink the last of what was left. Well, whatever he thought was left anyway, as the dry air within was all that met his mouth. He sighed, and clipped it back where it belonged. He'd have to fill that up later. And the hunger gnawing at his stomach didn't help either, but that was more negligible for now. Either way, he continued slowly walking, keeping his hands exposed  and empty, for fear of violent interpretations.

[The Past]

Geoff jolted as the brass knuckles were thrown. He managed to catch one, letting the other fall to the ground to be picked up.
"Th-thanks..."
He let the words from Nishjin sink in for a moment. He wasn't too comfortable with the guy's attitude, but he certainly wasn't a malicious beast.
"... Uh, I'm Geoffrey," the bear replied with a tad more confidence. "Been hiding underground f-for a good while. Had to come out for supplies..."
Geoff appreciated the word 'underground' popping out thoughtless from his mouth. Sounded cooler than 'in a basement'.

[Nishjin]

"Ah, in the subways, huh? I've hidden out in a number of those, but most of them were sandwich restaurants."
Nishjin puts out his hand, offering a handshake.
"It's nice to meet you, Geoffrey, even if we won't know each other for long."

[Grovygrunge]

"Well, I've got literally nothing so you're better off than I am." Xander crossed his arms as the others introduced themselves. "Alright then. Did you say you were underground?" He gestured towards the bear by lazily moving his hand slightly. "Sounds like that must have been shitty."

[The Past]

Geoff shook Nishjin's hand and nodded.

"Ehh, yeah... been my life since I was a kid. Spent the time reading books and stuff... Was with my dad but he hasn't come back in years..."
Geoff lowered his gaze to the pavement as a sigh escaped his nostrils. He then pressed his lips into a bitter smile and hooked his thumbs in his pockets with a shrug. "... Eh, shit happens, I guess..."
Talking eased him somewhat, although the subject was nowhere near comforting.

[Nishjin]

"I hear that. When this crap all started I got trapped inside of a dojo for a week. My dad came, but he couldn't get me out and left me. I dunno what happened to my mom, but... I can't imagine anything good. I lived off box lunches and trained with these" Nishjin holds his nunchucks up a little for emphasis, "until I finally found a roof exit and escaped. Been alone ever since, and I like it that way."
Nishjin was no stranger to conversation, even if it was with himself, but this particular one was giving him a sense of unease for some reason...

[David Le Fox]

"I've just bounced between place from place, my parents were killed when this shitstorm started but I was saved by some bandits, I left them though, not the life style I want, my story's not that great" *Connor pulls out the bag of apples* "Anyone hungry?"

[Grovygrunge]

Xander quickly slipped his hand into the bag and grabbed an apple. Tossing it into the air and catching it again before taking a bite out of it. He paused for a second, before swallowing the chunk of fruit he had bitten off and staring at Connor for a moment. "So, I wasn't expecting it to be exactly be fresh. How'd you get this? Grow it yourself?"

[The Past]

The offering of apples brought a relieved smile to Geoff's face. "Y-yes, thank you."
He reached for one and examined around its surface. After all this time, he figured he would never taste fresh fruit again. He would have been happy with anything, but an apple was a surprise.
"Where did you get these," he asked Conner before taking a bite.