DracoLunaris
rush99999
SmileyForTheCam
op2024
Nani
Guardian Angel Haruki
Eviledd1984
Hope Lover
Fetzen
princessRory Arcadia
Sully's Rest
{{ informational: the individual at 10 o'clock has spent significantly more time observing you than she has other individuals in the area. }}
Rory rolled his eyes and shoveled a hearty bite of stew into his mouth. It was the first meal he'd had in a minute that was more substantial than nuts, berries, and bits of campfire-roasted meat; as much as he wanted to just shove his face into the plate and lick it clean, he forced himself to take his time and eat properly. This place--Sully's Rest, they called it--was the largest settlement he had encountered since he'd set out for Ardhelm, and if he played his cards right, it could present him with opportunities he'd be foolish not to take advantage of. Opportunities that might not be offered if everyone saw him going at his meal like the starved dog he was. It was a small advantage, but life had taught him that a small advantage was nothing to turn your nose up at.
Plus, it would be a shame to cross the mutant infested wastes only to die here, choking on a bit of stew-meat, because he forgot to chew.
Looking up, he spotted Stella at the fryer, just where the AI had indicated. Of course she's watching me. I'm a stranger, and armed besides.
{{ informational, addendum: at least five other individuals in the immediate vicinity possess visible firearms. out of those, the amount of time that individual has spent observing you is a statistical outlier. }}
Rory didn't have a comeback for that. While he chewed on that thought he realized he ought to say something instead of just stare at the diner's proprietor, so he waved at Stella and pointed at his plate. "Hey, Stella! I dunno what you put in it, but the food's delicious!" He gave her a smile and a thumbs up before turning back to his meal.
The heat of the day was stifling, and under the shade of the diner's awning Rory had opted to remove his coat. Normally the additional layer was a small price to pay for keeping the frying sun from burning him to a crisp; here, he let the sweat do its best to keep him cool. The main problem with that at the moment was that his jacket's wide collar was good not only for keeping his neck unburnt, but for hiding where he was looking. He did his best, though--bending down to the plate in an apparently clumsy effort to transfer a piece of meat to his mouth via the bits of flatbread he had been given, hiding his roving gaze with one arm.
Okay, am I the only one she's watching like that?
{{ processing query... response: there is another individual whom she has been observing with the same frequency, at your three o'clock. }}
Rory swallowed the mouthful of bread and stew, then sat straight upright and stretched in his seat, hands reaching to the sky. He rolled his head around, working out the pains in his neck and shoulders, and--more importantly--catching a glimpse of the man the AI had pointed out to him.
Oh, well, yeah. I can see why she's keeping an eye on him. He was certainly something to look at. Some kind of mutant. Not the feral kind, clearly, but definitely not baseline human. Tough looking customer. Rory took the opportunity to glance at the other patrons, and he didn't need any artificial intelligence to tell him that Stella wasn't the only one with her eye on the man. Guess I'm not the only one that thinks so.
The young man made a snap decision; as he lowered his hands and finished his stretch, he turned and took a long look at the whole settlement, as if he were just now deciding to take it all in. As his gaze moved over the greenish mutant--as naturally as he could, as if he had just spotted him while looking around--Rory paused for a second, met the man's eyes, then gave him a smile and a small salute before finishing his circuit and turning back to his meal.
{{ analysis, social: associating yourself with that individual might cause issues for your ability to integrate yourself into this social group. }}
Stick to counting how many times the cook looks at me. I know what I'm doing.