Justin listened to Cameron's tale with a sympathetic ear, following Cameron's lead and placing himself on the floor in a seated position, legs out in front of him as she regaled him with tales of her past. It was sad to hear that her clan had been destroyed and she had to live with the memories, but then again, it was becoming common place. He had come upon a number of minor settlements torn to pieces by raiders, depraved stoners who had scavenged enough equipment to make them dangerous or a bit of both. This, however, seemed more targeted, which terrified him. If there was an organized group with this kind of gear out to harm people, there wouldn't be any other settlements on the east coast...or in the U.S. for that matter. 

He took the cigarette and held it for her as she continued, not indulging in the act. Justin despised the stuff personally, but wasn't about to condemn his new-found companion for attempting to calm herself down. When she took it back, her eyes looked to be welling up with tears. He was about to make a loose attempt at comforting her, but then she asked about his age. 
"Twenty nine. That, apparently, was considered much younger than it is now. Ryken told me that before all this went to crap, his parents didn't trust him with so much as a fork at eight years old. Now? We've got eight year olds learning how to make bullets from scrap metal and plant seeds in just the right way so they can grow without being torched by the sun." He shifted his position to where his legs were bent, arms circling around his knees as he continued: 
"But yeah, twenty nine. Got trusted with the position of scout at eighteen. Hit my head against the wall as a rookie, you know? Got bruised, beaten, even left for dead all in my first year. Maturation process around here is pretty quick." He chuckled, his periphery catching the initial gleam of the sun coming through the somehow intact glass pane that once served a storefront. 
"Once our former lead scout, Juniper, died on the job, I got pushed into the position at twenty six. Ryken thought I could do a good job, saw something in me, I guess. Of course, lead scout just means that I do crazy, suicidal stuff like this and pray to every divine figure known to us that I get back in one piece." Justin looked to Cameron, curiosity dancing in his eyes. 
"It does help that I have a buddy to travel with who can throw knives into people's throats. Always a good thing. My question is: how on earth did you learn how to fight like you do? We train both guys and gals how to fight in Omega, but you...you're really good. You move really..." He wiggled his arms a bit.
"Gracefully? Ok, that WASN'T graceful, but you know what I mean!" Laughing, he continued: 
"So not only am I curious about how you learned to fight, but why...why were you under house arrest? Beat up a guy who hit on you?"