"I—" Annie began. Why indeed? She had all the reasons not to trust him, a drunken stranger... and did he just say<i>unsavory reputation</i>? But then again, he was in the company of Fanya, who— And why did she trust<i>her</i>, again? Annie tried to come up with reasons, but the best she managed was that it<i>felt right</i>. Then there was the dog... Yes, that must be it, those eyes... She felt warm inside, staring into them, while their owner waited for her to hide the bottle again.<br/><br/>"Fanya doesn't seem insane," Annie said, and grinned at the random opening, "Wouldn't make a lot of sense to hire people who'd stab each other's backs the first chance they get, would it? I don't know how much I trust her yet... But she doesn't seem insane. A little crazy perhaps, but not insane. And besides, with a dog this happy, the master can't be<i>all</i>bad himself."<br/><br/>She hid the bottle again for a while, not nearly as interested in it anymore as Louie still was, and then turned to briefly face the man again.<br/><br/>"I'm a bit lost, to be honest," she said, "A couple of weeks back, I found myself running away. No proper reason not to go back... but I did not. Things at home were, well, fine, and uneventful. I realize now how lucky we were. How we had avoided all the horrors out there. And how that luck could've just changed at any time. We were so ignorant... I fear for those who I left behind... I should go back, and help them. Bloody hell..."<br/><br/>Annie went quiet for a while, not finding the way to explain why she didn't<i>want</i>to go back. Or perhaps she just didn't want to admit herself that she was a coward, that she just felt safer here with people who<i>knew</i>about things. People she could rely on against anything, like a pack of raging deathclaws. All she needed was their trust, and she didn't fully realize how blindly she was rushing in to earn it.<br/><br/>"So... do<i>you</i>trust her?" she asked.<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>