Almost as soon as Markus had stepped outside, he was met with the most unexpected sound coming from nearby:

Laughter.

It was odd. He couldn't quite recalling hearing anybody he'd met laughing so hard, yet this woman, sitting on the bench which he was planning to take his seat, was making no effort to disguise the fact she was indeed laughing at him. "What the [i]hell[/i] happened to you?" The woman spoke, approaching in a casual manner that seemed rather friendly. It sure as Hell beat most of the folk from this District, anyway.

Brimming an earnest smile, the man was about to offer his hand, though remembering his current situation simply nods courteously. "Name's Markus! Just doin' my part, tryin' to get an honest day's pay for an honest day's work. Thousand credits ain't bad just to clean up the sewer, don't you think? At the very least, it's enough to get me by." Jones chuckled somewhat and continues. "Oh, but to answer your question, I kinda got hit by a tidal wave of -- and excuse my French -- [i]shit[/i] as I was climbing out the exit. I mean, it's bad, but it's not [i]that[/i] bad, right? Could be worse. Well, it was outside, at least."

The woman before him was... rather pretty, at least to Markus. Somehow he found himself drawn to her smile. Even if it was at his expense, that laugh and grin was simply [i]intoxicating.[/i]

[i]'Snap out of it, man! You don't even know her name!'[/i]

Mentally slapping himself, the Outsider stares toward the sky, the sun that beat down on him seemingly amplified from the human waste which stuck to him so. "B-but yeah, uh, this heat is kinda killin' me... Probably all the crap. This is one of those times I wish I owned my own shower..." With a sigh, the man continues smiling, his gaze returning to the young woman. "Nice bag, by the way."

[i]'You, my friend, are hopeless...'[/i] He thought to himself.