Lucy goes a little still, considering his words. Of course she'd assumed a free gift, an attempt to be kind-- it's what she would have done. This is a different place, the surface, a different world. Another culture. Another time. The Wasteland lives in a perpetual future.
She should look at this as an opportunity. She can show him her kindness, and in doing so, prove trustworthy.
“I already told you.” Again, a correction. Delivered almost patiently, yet absent of any feeling—including even mild disappointment—which might result from his being at all impressed to begin with. “I don’t need anything, here.”
He glances away, long enough to reach for the pot still hanging over his fire. Unhooks it, sets it down in the cool dirt to one side.
A lifetime of excelling, of always striving, of always getting it right; her jaw twitches very sightly at this correction. She isn't supposed to get things wrong. But it's worth reiterating, if only to herself-- this man is from another culture. It's not wrong. It's miscommunication.
"Well, I'm a good shot, but I figure everybody's gotta be out here to survive." Her cheer is summoned back immediately, instinctively. "I've benefited from a full and vigorous education. I can name all the pre-war presidents."
She knows he won't care about that, but it's a fun thing to mention.
"Do you need anything repaired? I was a part of the Young Pipefitter's Association, and I once built a fully functional TV set out of spare parts. It stopped working after an hour, but only because one of the vacuum tubes was faulty." One day, she's sure, she'll finally find out who shot Liberty Valance.
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She should look at this as an opportunity. She can show him her kindness, and in doing so, prove trustworthy.
"What do you need?"
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He glances away, long enough to reach for the pot still hanging over his fire. Unhooks it, sets it down in the cool dirt to one side.
“What do you have that’s useful?”
no subject
"Well, I'm a good shot, but I figure everybody's gotta be out here to survive." Her cheer is summoned back immediately, instinctively. "I've benefited from a full and vigorous education. I can name all the pre-war presidents."
She knows he won't care about that, but it's a fun thing to mention.
"Do you need anything repaired? I was a part of the Young Pipefitter's Association, and I once built a fully functional TV set out of spare parts. It stopped working after an hour, but only because one of the vacuum tubes was faulty." One day, she's sure, she'll finally find out who shot Liberty Valance.