Bountiful Bounties~! (Open!)

If there was one thing that Felix prided himself on, it was his acting skills.

Felix smiled and chuckled along as they conversed about Joffrey's blatantly apparent ego, and even as the item of his desire appeared right in front of him, his expression did not deviate from any kind of expectation, he appeared appropriately surprised at hearing that they had met the man, and maintained his disposition of not having any interest in the electronic object rather masterfully. But the reality was very different. He needed it. And no explanation will persuade a man who has been paid to do something. At least, not in this situation.

"Interesting. Honestly, I'm quite uncertain as to what business Joffrey deals with. Always so covert about it." Felix was wondering as to just how much Karl was actually questioning about the whole situation. Did he actually wonder why something so small and apparently unassuming had such a large price tag on the mere delivery of it? Well, he wasn't going to push his luck on the subject. "As for Joffrey, the man has this annoying habit of believing that debts are somehow below him. Often needs some persuading to fully understand that he hasn't been above anything since... well, since the bombs dropped." He leaned back further in his chair. "So he 'promised' the caps?" he laughed lightly at that. "Knowing the man, those words are probably incredibly empty. I recommend using my method of 'pestering him with seven foot tall women until he caves'. Works every time."

He figured he had a while until the time was right, and that he should just talk some more with them. He didn't have any ill will towards them, after all. "Well then, it appears we have some time to kill. Shouldn't stay awake too long though, an early start would be preferable. But hey, conversation is an enjoyable commodity. So tell me," he said, smiling, "how old do you think I am?"

So, this 'couple' was looking for a man named Joffrey, who also seemed to be the same people that Karl accepted this delivery from. Talk about a coincidence.

Suddenly, however, Melodee burst out asking to climb on Florence. Maria laughed at the sheer ludicrousy of the situation, and at Florence's obvious discomfort with the whole thing. However, Florence grudgingly went with it, and the pair stepped outside so Melodee could climb her without knocking her head on the ceiling.

After that, Felix continued, talking in further detail about the man. As it appears, he's a lying cheat that may take coercion in order to get him to pay.

And then Felix asked a question out of the blue: How old am I? Maria, briefly confused by the random question, answered semi-randomly, "26." It was the best she could come up with.

It had actually been a question that he had given many people before -- and he will concede that they all got it utterly wrong. Of course, no one had ever gotten it that wrong before, the girl's blatant sarcasm aside.

"Twenty-six! Now wouldn't that be lovely?" he said, laughing. He put on a purposefully faked thoughtful expression, "Let's see, I've been called anything from thirty to fifty years old, and I am under the impression that the woman who called me the latter was trying to insult me. Of course, the supposed insult lost all weight when I revealed that I'm actually fifty-eight."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Whooooo!" the little girl, one 'Melodee' hanging from Florence's neck called out to the vast never-ending landscape, the echoes moving far. Florence held lightly onto the girl's legs, balancing her weight. Despite the woman's already large excess of weight, from her holstered weapons, to her massive backpack, to her layers of clothing, she still did not seem to be struggling while carrying them. If anything, it all seemed rather easy to her. There was no bend in her back, no struggle in lifting up the girl to her shoulders. She even looked like she could manage even more before she started breaking a sweat. "Now onwards!" Melodee gleefully shouted with her axe brandished in the air, cackling with laughter. "First, the Pentagon! Then the wooooorllld!" While Florence was, by all accounts, unsure as to what she should have been doing, really just standing there on the spot and letting the girl enjoy high altitudes, she couldn't help but enjoy the innocence. It was as if the teenager on her shoulders was unaware of the downtrodden state of the world.

Although the world would never see it, Florence smiled for the first time in two years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Yeah, that part usually throws people off-guard. But the point here, if you'll excuse an old man needlessly philosophizing, nobody is what they appear to be. I'm sure both of you took one look at Florence and figured her as a fairly intimidating woman who wrestles bears on a daily basis." Of course, he didn't exactly disagree with that possibility. "She's was also a doting mother, and is the sweetest person I know. Never disregard the possibility that someone will surprise you in the most fantastic, or most heartbreaking, of manners." He chuckled, realizing he was probably talking way too much. That was a realization he had on many occasions. "But I'm rambling. I was always told I had a talent for talking fervently and excitedly about absolutely nothing at all. Particularly by my mother, for some reason. But enough about me. Where are you both from?"