They slow across from the eatery/tavern.

As Rainier examines the sign of the eatery/tavern, he notes a large red fish on it.  So, maybe a lobster is a type of fish?

At Rainier's commanding gaze, Knacks blinks her eyes and with a demure tilt of her hand, lays three fingers gently against her chest, her eyes communicating a forced innocence that seems to scream, "Who, me?!"  After a moment, she offers a quick huff, and crosses a finger over her heart and raises her hand up, palm facing Rainier.  her way of indicating she'll mind her manners.  For now.

A white, wooden door is open in front of a white-washed storefront with a lopsided golden crown painted on the front.  A man in a god-awful red-brown shawl of some kind is halfway turned towards the interior of the store as if trying to go back inside.  After a moment, he stumbles outside, a pair of bare, feminine arms finish shoving the man outside, and the door slams shut behind him.

The sound of a bolt seals the door.  And another.

The man turns wide-eyed to face in Rainier's direction.  He forces a crooked smile.

"Greetings!" he begins, his voice squeaking at a high pitch.  He clears his throat and starts again, his voice trembling somewhat, but the pitch reduced to a tenor.

"Hullooo!  I ... I am Mayor Fine!"  His chin seems to tilt upward of its own accord as he states his name.  He quickly seems to think better of it and cheats backwards towards the door, his heel finding that it's close, and he stops.  "Uh ... how might I help you, Sir."  His eyes flash to Knacks and Gran.  "And ma'ams."

Rainier rolled his eyes in an over dramatic fashion at Knacks false innocence act but nodded as an acceptance of her tenuous promise. as the oddly dressed man came stumbling out of the door he smiled with unconcealed amusement and he heard sniggers from behind him as the fool tried to regain entry and was locked out. A quick turn of the head to his crew came with a flashing smile before he turned back to regard the mayor. The man looked supremely agitated and was a far cry from any leader that rainier had met before. usually they were tough motherfuckers to begin with or surrounded themselves with them. the apparently leader of a settlement with real buildings, showers , electricity and even music seemed cowardly and not very well respected by his people. Rainier wondered how no one else had stepped up and taken over. if nothing else it provided future opportunity but for now he would play nice.

"Names Rainier and these are a few of my Bloodless Sons."

He gestures for Gran to step forward. he barely manages to stifle a chuckle as he stumbles back into the door and hears Knacks snort when she is addressed as Ma'am.

"This is Gran. We have travelled some way looking for a home when we came across this lovely city of yours. I was told you were the man to talk to about setting up shop here and perhaps working out some kind of deal so we can all get along without having to resort to more uncivilised discussions."

He makes a show of looking around at the residents hiding nearby and the shop fronts, sweeping his arms wide slowly.

"You got a nice gig going on here and I would like my family to join this budding community. I heard you got two rules and I will make sure my guys wont be the ones to start trouble but i cant hold them accountable if some of your residents feel like they want to play tough. We don't like starting fights but we are real good at ending them. Since this is your town and all i guess we should hear your terms etc and move from there."

The mayor's lips slowly and silently repeats the words, "bloodless sons" with his eyes bulging to saucers for a few heartbeats.

It appears that the mayor has stopped breathing as Rainier speaks.  But, in the silence at the conclusion of Rainier's monologue, the mayor clears his throat.

"Uh, why, yes.  Two main rules.  Do no harm, and do not take that which isn't yours."  His eyes scan the assembled men, and Rainier can almost see the mayor's lips moving as he silently counts the Sons.

Another clearing of the throat.

"Well, uh ... there's quite a bit of you.  And we haven't a lot of wide space ...."  He pauses for a moment and taps his chin, his brow furrowing in thought.  "Although ... we do have the Boneyard."  He looks at Rainier.  "It's only occupied by a tinkerer and his crew.  Room for your," he waves a hand in what might be a sideways '8'.  "People and their toys."

Another thought seems to occur to him.  "We, uh, also can't abide charity 'cept for the old, the young, and the infirm.  What sort of work are your people willing to do to support yourselves?"  Caution and worry exude from him in that question.

Rainier maintained his calm smile and did well not to laugh openly at or humiliate the man  in front of him. he seemed more a clown than a leader. Rainier couldn't picture anyone being willing to kill for this mayor, let alone die for him. He understood ruling by strength, love or fear. Each had their merits but he could not figure out why a settlement of such a size and advanced tech would follow him.

Another moment passed as the Mayor counted and Rainier nearly laughed. He trembled at a third of their number. Rainier wondered how pale the man would go when the rest of his Sons arrived. Perhaps he would faint? Suddenly the amusement ended and the snickering stopped instantly. Rainier saw Mayor fine wave his hand and felt his hand curl into a fist when he finished his double take. The rest of the mayors words fading from his mind momentarily. Toys?

"Toys?"

The smile had dropped from his face and his voice was concentrated venom. He spoke quietly, almost a whisper but Gran shifted and looked between the Mayor and Rainier as though weighing up whether to step in. he took a step forward, slow and purposeful towards the mayor. Angry muttering began behind him and a few including Knacks made growling noises in their throat. Even the usually unshakeable Gran gently stroked the hilt of the knife at her belt at the insult. Another step forwards and 8 more pairs echoed it and scuffled in the dirt, the pack emulating the leader. A pregnant pause developed in the air as his eyes began boring holes into the Mayor. The pack gathered closer to his back and on the breeze he could almost smell the murder lust behind him. With a word or an action from him they would tear the fool limb from limb. it would be well deserved and enjoyable. It would be a mistake. With an outstretched hand to the ground he signalled them to back off. Only Knacks didn't move immediately, she stood torn between obeying and the rage.

"You just gonna let this fucker get away with it! Rain You-"

An audible crack and Knacks body tumbling onto her ass on the ground interrupted whatever she was going to say. Blood trickled from a cut lip and Gran stood over her massaging her hand menacingly. Rainier looked to Gran and nodded his thanks, she responded with a nonchalant shrug and a glowering stare at knacks. Rainier turned his attention back to the Mayor and smiled. Taking a few more steps and brushing imaginary dirt of the mans odd clothing. In the distance he could hear the all too familiar rumble of engines and was able to pick out the riders by their bikes alone. He spoke quietly but the venom was replaced with sickening sweetness.

"As you can tell we are pretty tired and some of us can get a little touchy about some things. I'm trying to start something good here so i'm going to give you a pass on what you just said. You gave us your two rules now i will give you ours".

The rumbling grew louder each second and the rest of his crew became visible in the distance behind him.

"You don't disrespect the Bloodless Sons and you never disrespect our fucking bikes. You understand? Good. Now soon your going to be meeting the rest of my family and i'm going to keep your little slip of the tongue to myself. As you can see from Knacks over there, we don't tolerate disrespect. Now if one of my Sons steps out of line we smack them down. If someone else steps out of line we are less gentle."

He paused as the remaining 20 bikers pulled up all but blocking the street off. Whispers and Scorch stepped up to stand by Gran. Whispers declared his arrival with all the tact and diplomacy he could muster.

"Nice place we found this time Baby. Who the fuck is this poncy bastard?"

"This fine gentleman is Mayor Fine. Mayor Fine meet my lieutenant, Whispers. You have already met one of my lieutenants Gran and the quiet one next to Whispers is my last lieutenant Scorch. Mayor Fine here runs this town and we are having a nice little discussion about how we can help each other out. Where were we? Ah yes. Services. For starters we can offer protection, each of my crew is a fighter and hard as nails to boot. Settlement this size must have some bad sorts running around and making life difficult for the upstanding citizens such as ourselves. We can be enforcers, scavengers even executioners if there a need. I'm sure you can think of something for us to do Mr Fine?"

By now, the mayor is nearly quaking.  He stares at Rainier as the man leans in close to dust off the imagined dirt from the mayor's cloak.

He nods in a jerky motion at Rainier.  "Uh ... I, uh ..."  His voice quivers.

Concerned expressions appear from the couple dozen faces visible from where Rainier sits.  Mothers shuffle off with a couple of children, and men stand uncertain - a couple with sterner looks of resentment, even subtle defiance.

Knacks glares at Gran, murder in her eyes as she shuffles to her feet, still a bit groggy from the blow landed by Gran.  Gran eyes her and shakes her head slowly, silently warning Knacks to shut the fuck up.

"We ... that's a lot of mouths to feed.  Do ... do you ... uh ... have anything to trade?  For food and drink?"  The words escape from the mayor's trembling throat.  He clears his throat.  "We can ... uh ... let you stay in the boneyard ... uh ... no charge!  For ... uh ..."  His eyes look around for relief - everywhere, anywhere.  Finding none, he swallows.  "One month?" he squeaks.  "No charge!" he adds quickly.

Rainier stood close to the Mayor and watched him like a cat might watch a mouse. Dispassionate and cruel. He began to pace back and forth whilst making a show of clutching his chin in thought. It was a mere pantomime that the others Sons could see through easily yet it had its purpose. The offer that the mayor squeaked out was much better than Rainier could have expected when they first rode in. A month was a lot of time to ingratiate themselves with the locals and develop some contacts. There might even be some stuff left to salvage about the city. It was indeed an excellent deal, one that only emphasised the weakness of the Mayor's leadership. He saw the looks and stares from some of the locals directed at them. They are not all sheep then. Good.

"Your offer is very fair Mayor Fine. We will accept. As for food...we have some jingle we can pull together and we will start looking for work and foraging for trade-able goods. We will do our best not to burden this place and truly we mean no harm. Just remember our rules and we will remember yours Mayor. Now that i think of it, what is the name of this settlement?"

The mayor's acquiescing nod is hesitant - uncertain - at first, but quickly becomes more confident, triumphant even.

He grins and holds a hand in front of him, turning it palm up and spitting into it before extending it to Rainier.  "It's a deal, then!" he announces, his voice still a bit higher than it probably ought to be, but he has regained some semblance of personal dignity.

Rainier Stepped forward and spat into his own hand before grasping the mayors in a nearly bone crunching shake. He continued to smile sweetly. "It's been a real pleasure.....sir"

He spun around and released a high pitched whistle with his lips to let the bikers chatter and chuckling die down. "Looks like we got somewhere to stay boys and girls. To the boneyard! set up the laager and get your spare jingle together with any trade-able goods you got. There's going to be a tithe to trade for food and water then we are going to divvy up any jingle made by ranks. its been a while since we've had a chance to do some bonding so rest up tonight, eat and drink your fill and enjoy the delights of this settlement."

He glanced at the mayor and other wary townfolk before continuing.

"We keep it clean, we keep it fun but most of all we keep it bloodless!"

A small cheer and a bit of laughter erupts from the group with a few sad or annoyed mutterings. Rainier turned  slightly so he was half addressing the locals.

"Tomorrow night we are going to have a little celebration, an old tradition we call winners luck. All are welcome to watch or even participate if you are brave enough. The winner will get my share of the tithed jingle! on this occasion i extend this to both the Sons and to the citizens of this settlement. Spread the word!"

The cheers and grunts of amusement picked up when winners luck was announced as some of the men and women began nudging each other and laughing or eyeing each other up menacingly. Scorch gave Whispers a very meaningful look which clearly was some form of unspoken 'no'. The atmosphere turned more serious when he offered his tithe as winnings and the joking and ribbing turned a little less jovial. Knuckles could be heard cracking and several people began rolling there shoulders in anticipation.

"If you would kindly point us in the direction of the boneyard then we will set off with your blessing Mayor."

Rainier mounted his bike and waited just long enough to be pointed i the right direction before setting off with 30 sons in tow.

The assembled residents watch the Sons warily as the men and women grin and revel in the prospect of settling down for some true fun!

The mayor nods in agreement and the blood seems to be returning to his blanched face.  He spreads his arms to the surrounding residents.  "Come now, certainly one of you might want to show our new friends to the boneyard!"  He glances about as the locals all exchange glances and look towards one another with nervous glances.



"Oh for ..." comes an exasperated voice, a hoarse alto coming from just inside a darkened doorway of the structure next to the Mayor.  "I'll do it!"

A woman in all black leather, canvas and jeans steps out of the darkness of the doorway of the two story brick structure.  She pauses only for a moment on the broken sidewalk before the doorway and quaffs the remainder of whatever had been in a tin cup.  She runs a leather clad arm over her lips and clips the cup to a small hook under a flap of her coat on her right hip.

She strides confidently towards Rainier and folds her arms in front of him.  "I'll show you the boneyard."  The woman - a dark haired girl with dark eyes standing about 5'2" or so and no more than 25 - eyes the back of Rainier's bike.

"Give me lift. or be prepared to walk your bikes because I can't walk fast enough for you to keep your bikes upright."  She slaps a hand to her right knee where a black metal brace embraces her knee and legs just above and below the joint.

He gave the woman an appreciative look up and down and shrugged before patting the space behind him. "Hop on, best hold on tight. You don't want to tumble into the path of my Sons and i don't want a death on my conscience first day here. Especially not one so pretty."

He revved up to drown out the laughter, lewd gestures and cat calls that followed her getting on to the bike. Rainier pointedly didn't look behind him but could almost feel Knacks' murderous gaze. He felt a pang of guilt perhaps even shame. He knew it would come back to bite him but what did he have to lose with a bit of harmless and obvious flirting? He and Knacks were the past and the day was one of fresh starts.

He pulled away at a cruising speed enjoying the sound of 30 bikes pulling off, the Mayors frightened face still comfortingly vivid in his mind. he turned his head a little so his voice would carry a little behind him.

"So you got a name? We could do with a guide around these parts if you looking for work or something to break up the monotony of safe living. Names rainier by the way, in case you didn't catch it back there. You can call me Baby as well if you'd rather. Not the best nickname but its stuck longer than i can remember."

The girl climbs on to the bike behind Rainier using her hand to help throw her right leg over the back.

"You always flirt with the locals?" she asks as she settles into the seat behind him and clasps her hands firmly about his waist.  No shyness or hesitancy there.

"Name's Annie.  And I got a job, thanks.  I just didn't want your boys shooting up my neighbors before you had a chance to see that they're not all like Mayor Fine."

Rainier sets off and Annie's grip tightens about Rainier's midsection.  She leans her face near Rainier's right ear.  "Baby?"  He can't see it, but Rainier can hear the amusement in the girl's voice.  "Oh, there simply MUST be a story behind that!"

"Don't you? Must get pretty boring if you don't. Didn't see many travellers out in the wilderness. You guys are pretty out of the way. only came this way because we happen to bump into a mad old lady shouting about lights and music in the trees. Best part about travelling; new places, new opportunities, new people...."

Rainier jerked his head towards Grans team then towards the others. He could hear Knacks bike spluttering close behind, they had little fuel left in the tanks and he could feel his own bike getting a little angsty between the legs.

"Ain't much opportunity within my own crew, sure there will be takers but being the boss has some rules and not many of my Sons like taking orders at the best of times but they will grit their teeth and obey because when I speak they have to listen. At least until i die or another tries to take my place but that's besides the point. Would you go steady with someone who could order you what to do whenever they felt like it? Could publicly punish you for disobedience simply because they have the right and obligation to do so? Being Boss has its perks sure, but makes other things difficult."

He listened to her speak up over the engine and flashed her a smile.

"Pretty name, don't hear many like that in my company, we all got nicknames and nom do grays? gears? well whatever that word is again. Pretty sure some of them have forgotten their own names by now."

He lapsed into a short silence and the tone of his voice took on a less playful sound, not threatening as it was with the mayor but honest and firm.

"Trust me Annie, if we wanted to take this place by force we wouldn't have driven up to the front door and asked for an audience with your fearless leader. I reckon best way to attack would have been to wait until you are all playing that music, bunched up nice and close. The sound of engines hidden by the beat. Easy work with a few explosives. Just raid you every night, the music would stop, fear sets in then we just wait and pick you off a few at a time. Some of you would maybe go it alone but others would try to rally others together. Let them build up hope then crush it again. Raid and repeat, raid and repeat. But if we did we would rule the corpse of a city and for no better reason than because we could. We aren't here to fight you Annie. We are here to join you and have a bit of peace and fun for once."

He pulled away and laughed freely when she enquired about his nickname. The arms wrapped around him made him think of possible future events. A swift glance behind and past Annie and his thoughts turned to past event once more.

"There certainly is. Best told whilst not on the move however. The ride is free in exchange for your assistance but i'l trade information for the tale if your that intrigued. If not then just enjoy the ride and i'l drop you back once we are all set-up."

Annie points Rainier south and west around a few turns along streets clear of large debris.  The few people they see eye the passing gangers with wariness, and some lower their eyes and dip into structures as if attempting to avoid trouble.

"Lots of people here have nicknames, too.  None for me stuck.  'Less you want to call me 'bitch,' or something, and then I'll have to smack you.  So, Annie's good for me.

"Don't mistake the people of Bell Town with being soft.  If we were all softies, we'd've been overrun a long time ago.  People want what we got.  And we got a lot of luggers and battlers that call Bell Town home.  We'd be a tough takedown."

She nods and directs Rainier towards the edge of a yard with several tracks and myriad train cars.  The smell of a wood fire wafts through the air and smoke from a collection of old wooden structures at the west side of the yard appears to be the source.

Annie taps rainier's shoulder.  "This'd be good.  You might want to talk with the other residents here if you don't want to bump heads.  Lazlo's a tinkerer, and he and his crew live here - in there."  She points to the buildings with the smoke.  "Down a ways is a guy named Tor.  Polite, neat, good looking, and has an air of toughness to him.  I haven't talked to him, but he seems like he can handle himself.

"Other than them, I guess you guys can make yourselves at home."

She loosens her grip about Rainier's waist as Knacks pulls up alongside of them to their left.  Knacks gives Annie a glare that throws daggers.  For her part, Annie doesn't seem to notice - or care.

Gran pulls alongside to the right.  "Want me to check it out?" she asks, nodding towards the buildings ahead of them.

Rainier smiled wolfishly when she mentioned smacking him. She was his kind of people and a possible ally in the town.

"An enticing offer, I feel like I'm getting mixed signals here Annie. Do you make a habit of flirting with strangers?"

He chuckled to show he was teasing, but only half jokingly. He listened closely and filed away the information, some would likely come to winners luck, jingle or simple curiosity should bring a few. If they competed all the better. There was something strange about knocking the shit out of each other then sharing booze that united people. Rainier didn't pretend to understand it but he could use it to his advantage.

Rainier pulled up to a stop.

"Thanks for the help Annie, if you wait a bit I can give you a ride back or send someone back now if you prefer?"

Knacks pulled up to the left and Rainier resisted the urge to wink or smile at her smugly. She looked like she was wound up tight enough. Anymore and she might actually snap for real. Fortunately Gran pulled up on the other side giving him a reason to direct his attention from the human firecracker.

"Yeah go check it out, keep it civil Gran, no strong arming or threats.. ."

Gran raised an eyebrow and gave him a withering look that suited her namesake. He bit back the rest of what he was going to say under that look. Rainier weathered it with an amused smile. Part of him felt guilty under her gaze but he couldn't place why exactly.

Knacks began to pull away before he spoke to her in a commanding tone.

"Knacks, we need to have a talk about today."

His eyes shifted to Annie and back to Knacks, his tone a little softer.

"Later though, don't make me climb the cliff you hear? "

She grunted an acknowledgement and set off after Gran. Unconsciously Rainier sighed before catching himself.

"So you wanna see more of the outsiders or you itching to get back to regular folk?"

"I don't play games.  If I'm interested, you'll know it," Annie says as Rainier heels up to a stop, a hint of amusement teasing in her tone.

She listens in silence as Rainier speaks with his lieutenants.

Annie answers his question.  "Nah, no need to rush back. I can wait and see a bit more.  Besides, I should probably make sure you don't eat poor Lazlo's cats for supper."  He can see Annie's head turning Knacks's direction as the other woman scowls once more and turns to wave her troop into position.

"Seems to be a bit of history between you two," Annie notes, apparently picking up on the vibe.  "Does she smile?"

"Ain't much meat on cats so they will probably be safe enough. My crew isn't a roving band of savages, well not compared to most of the packs you get out there. We have rules and if they arn't followed they are punished. We don't make too many allowances."

He was watching Gran head off when Annie commented on Knacks.

"Hmm? Ah me and Knacks? History is a good word for it I guess. Can't remember a day we haven't eaten, ridden and slept near each other. Until a little while back at least.

She used to smile a lot, real ones I mean not the mean feral grin she gives in front of the others.

She exists on impulse and adrenaline, wild and consuming like a fire. We used to be an item until I became boss, everything went sour after that and not much fun when you have to see each other every day of your life.

If I wasn't boss we would have come to blows by now then probably fucked after to clear the air. Things were simpler back then. Doesn't help that I gotta put her in the dirt every time she doesn't listen to orders."

He sounded a little wistful as he talked on the past but simply shrugged it off.

"It is what it is. What's your story?"

Gran and a couple of her riders reach the buildings and Gran walks to the door as a couple of her men flank to either side, appearing relaxed, yet close enough to intercede if there might be trouble.  Their attempt to look casual probably wouldn't fool anyone with a moderately discerning eye, however.

"Sounds like it's sort of a love-hate thing.  I've heard it said that there's not much difference between the two."

Annie's hands on Rainier's waist loosen to his hips.  "Not much to tell for me.  Born and raised here.  Mom raised me til I was almost a teenager, then she died.  Don't know what wandering stain was my father, and I don't much care.  Took in by a couple of the women here who I called aunts, but weren't really my blood.  Nice enough, I guess.  But, they wanted me to run off and have babies or some shit like that and that's not me.  Until I cracked my knee a couple years ago, I used to chase bounties.  Now, I chase off drunks and ne'er-do-wells from a couple of the drinking places.  Keeps me fed, but not as good as before."

She nods towards Knacks.  "Certainly don't got a guy that gives me the evil eye, though. Don't think I've had a guy long enough to care enough to get mad at me, like that one."  She grins.  "Maybe it's me."

Rainier kept an eye on Gran and the guys that were attending her. Trouble could spring up at any point in his experience. Though focusing on Gran he still listened to Annie and responded.

"Can't say I've ever really hated someone but I suppose you might be right."

He felt her hands shift to his hips and turned his head to check that the others were actually working and not just leering at him and Annie on the bike. The laager was taking shape well though he noticed a few heads snap round and steps moving faster when he looked their way.

"Seems like  there are worst places to grow up. Only life I've known is by bike and blood. Mum and dad found me bawling after they raided the settlement I was born in. Mum took a shine to me and kept me. Dad never denied her anything and warmed up to having someone he could mould and teach. Think he might have loved me before the end.

We rode, we raided and we celebrated. You ever seen 300+ bikes on one road? Towns and cities used to pay for us to drive straight through. Those were the good times. One bad raid and dad took a belly full of lead, took the bastard 3 days too die. The crew split up and a lot followed me. We hit some snags and a rather long journey through the wilderness cut our numbers down. Mum was taken by the madness so I helped her pass honourably.

Only 30 of us now but we're as close to as a family as your likely to find and we've all shed blood for each other. Can't ask for more than that."

He patted her hand gently in what he hoped was a comforting gesture.

"Perhaps you haven't yet met someone on your level. Truth be told you probably scare the shit out of them. Hold on to that and don't compromise who you are. If they can't deal with it then they ain't worthy of you.

You should come by Winners Luck tomorrow night. We want to make things work with the locals and it would mean a lot to us if you spread the word."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:07, Sun 07 Aug 2022.

Annie peers around to look at Rainier for a moment.  "You ... you rode out in the ... out there?  Under the canopy of trees?"  There is a measure of wonder in her voice.

"I always thought it'd turn people mad!  Most people who come through aren't normal anymore."  She shakes her head slowly, in surprise or awe, it's hard to say.

After a few moments, she sighs a bit and her hands tighten on Rainier's hips slightly and they slip a bit further around his stomach as if prepared for him to start up once more.  "Bikes and blood," she says, repeating his earlier words.  "Sounds exciting, but not like a place for a kid.  Bell Town, now that's a place for kids.  Safe, people, stuff."

Annie snorts softly, as if recalling some old memory.  "I had a guy tell me that with my fucked up leg all I'm good for is making babies now.  I kicked him in the nuts with my bad leg.  He cried."  Annie grins wickedly.

Ahead, the door to the structure opens and an Asian girl in her early twenties with a white tank top, tattoos, black jeans, and a metal bat casually braced over her shoulder opens the door.  She appears to give Gran the once over, and Gran offers the girl a few words and a polite nod of the head.



They exchange words for a few moments, and the girl tilts her head in Rainier's direction.  Gran nods and then they speak a few moments more.  Gran nods and then waves an arm, gesturing in Rainier's direction, beckoning him to join her.

Annie whispers into Rainier's ear.  "The girl's name is Thuy.  Hothead.  Can be kind of a bitch.  Very protective of Lazlo.  He's not good with people, so Thuy has to coach him.  She's okay."

Rainier raised an eyebrow at the sudden switch in Annie once he mentioned the wilderness. He turned his head a little to look her in the eye.

"Yes. We rode under the canopy and its true over half of my Sons did go mad. It was....unpleasant out there at times and only the most stubborn and singular minded of us survived it unscathed. At least from the madness, losing friends and family to the trees and the voices takes its toll which is partly why we wish to start fresh here."

A painful edge entered his voice and he smiled sadly before forcing a non committed laugh in order to shake of the memories. He would never admit it but he found comfort in the arms around him. like cleaning an old wound, discussing his past provided more relief than would have believed. It wasn't a topic brought up lightly around the others. everyone had lost someone close on the journey. rainier hoped they could clear it out at winners luck and when they had enough fuel to spare they would create a pyre for the lost and the euthanized.

When he replied his voice was audible forced but bleakly cheerful. The bleak optimism of one who has seen too many things and forces themselves onward regardless.

"Perhaps we got through because we weren't exactly normal to begin with. As you said , bikes and blood isn't a good atmosphere for kids to grow up in. Guess most the damage was already done by the time we grew up, got us through though. Kids.... hadn't really considered that. we been travelling almost non-stop last couple of years but i guess some of them will take the chance to expand the family. Just have to make sure they don't grow up too soft."

He chuckled at her story with a feral grin.

"He got off easy, best warn him to stay away from our girls if you bump into him again Annie. Any man that suggests something like that to them will be lucky if he can even have kids after! You should be safe from my Sons, you might get some lurid requests but they won't even think about laying hands on you without your express permission."

He didn't voice the fact that they would likely ask his permission if they were that keen. Rainier was canny enough to know that it would likely piss her off a treat.

"Not after you've ridden in the queens seat."

Rainier waited for a signal and rolled his shoulders when Gran waved him forward. Annie's breath in his ear sent goosebumps up his arms but he simply nodded. He dropped the kickstand and dismounted with his right leg tucked in tight to his body as he turned to face the bike when stepping over. It wasn't as smooth as a normal dismount but it meant that he didn't have to force Annie to get off too quickly. He didn't offer her a hand getting off but stood close enough that he could help her if she stumbled. Pride was amongst the trickiest of waters to navigate in his experience.

He proceeded at a slower pace than normal to accommodate Annie's gait, stopping to stretch and shake his legs every now and again as though he was trying to get rid of pins and needles.

"Been making friends i see Gran."

Gran shrugs.  "You know me, miss congeniality."  She nods towards the young tatted girl with the tank top and jeans.  "This is Thuy.  She sort of runs this place for her boss, Lazlo."  Gran looks at the girl, twitches a brow and then looks back at Rainier.  "She was asking about ... rent."

A sudden snort and chuckle from Annie, who remained only an inch from rainier's side.  "Ballsy!" she mutters, with amusement and admiration in her voice.

"Seems the women here have bigger balls than the men, at least if the mayor is anything to go by."

Rainier spat on the ground making his thoughts on Mr Fine abundantly clear.

"Well the Mayor said we get 1 month free but as I'm sure Gran explained we have no plans to be moving on anytime soon. What does your boss want, what does he need and what will he ask for? Once we know that we can sort something out."

He paused in thought for a moment and smiled sweetly.

"Just to be clear, if we make a deal it's on you to square it with the Mayor. We won't be paying twice over. So long as that's clear I hope we can get along well."

Thuy's brows furrow.  "We have a mayor?"

She offers a shrug of indifference.

"What Lazlo wants is to be left alone.  He's strange that way.  Some quiet to do his work during the day, and sometimes at night.  No one eats his cats, neither.  You be straight with him - and by that, with me - and we'll be all good."

She waves a hand to encompass their surroundings.  "It's a big boneyard.  No reason to think we need it all to ourselves.  We use it for scrap for Lazlo's tinkering.  There's another guy that lives here.  In his ride out back. But, he's a guest and shouldn't have a say in what Lazlo and me do."

Nodding off towards the assembled bikes, she adds, "I'm sure we can help with those, too.  I'm hearing a bit of trouble in them already.  Lazlo's good with machines.  I help him out.  He likes doing the work but doesn't think overmuch about payment so I take care of that for us both."

She waves a hand towards the north side of the yard.  "If you take your boys and make your place on the north side of the pair of rails, there's enough space and old train cars to give us each space.  All we ask is quiet at night - unless we're invited, and enough space and peace in the day to work.  We can be good neighbors and work the rest out."

Thuy spits on the palm of her hand and then extends it to Rainier.

Rainier raises an eyebrow at the first comment but otherwise did not respond to it.

"Don't make too much noise, don't lie and don't eat the cats. Seems fair enough."

He looked back to his bikes and smiled lovingly. "Yeah we haven't had much chance to work on them out in the canopy, don't come across too many fresh wrecks and some of the bikes are pretty specialist. if you have any parts up for bartering we would be happy to take a look. Your welcome to help so long as you ask permission first, we don't like people touching our bikes without permission. Cant promise that my crew wont take a knife to someone that does."

Rainier shrugged with open arms as if to say that just how things worked.

"You should have plenty of space, I imagine they will be more interested in exploration the delights of the city after so long out there. We are planning a little get together tomorrow night so you are all more than welcome to join, if you know anyone that likes  to watch or compete in a little bloody sport send them over."

He spat into his hand and clasped Thuy's own firmly and gave a few quick shakes before relaxing his grip.

"Pleasure doing business with you, any of mine cause any issues talk to Gran if its serious then she will bring it to me directly. You know any areas around this city that hasn't been picked clean already? We will be looking to make a living quite soon and i want to avoid any work that might cause too much friction with the locals."

Thuy leans to the side a bit as she releases Rainier's hand, apparently scanning the bikes beyond Rainier and Gran.  "I'm sure we can come up with reasonable barter for parts and for repairs.  I'd love to get my hands on some of those pipes and rods."  Her last sentence comes out almost as a purr.

"Scrounging might put you head to head with other gangs or burroughs.  Everyone claims this or that part of the city.  Just don't go pillaging in Bell Town and no one will care 'less you bring trouble our way."  She waves a hand west.  "If you go south and west, past the harbor, you might find things.  You might also have to fight for it."

With a smile, she adds, "And, for a fee, I'd be happy to guide you."

An uncontrolled snort from rainier's side.  Annie.

"Yeah.  Don't think so.  I can give him the tour.  I've got time."

Thuy only shrugs, though her eyes continue to scan the bikes beyond them.