Lilys stride slowed as she approached the buildings entrance. Blinking up at the building, down at the pip-boy strapped to her wrist, then back up again, she was convinced the man had told her wrong. The building in front of her was clearly marked as a MUSEUM, the Museum of History to be precise. NOT Underworld.

She sighed softly as she leaned against the small bit of railing in front of the building, poking at the contraption on her wrist. She just couldn't catch a break could she?

"What's up tourist?"

Lily huffed softly, not looking up from her pip-boy as she replied. "Well, this soldier guy over by that compound said that this was Underworld. But it's clearly a museum! I'm just really tired of being lied to out here..."

"It IS underworld, smoothskin."

Smoothskin. NOW Lily looked up, nearly gasping at the woman next to her, who was giving her a very amused look. "OH! Oh goodness I'm so sorry, I was being rude. You said it IS Underworld?"

"Inside. Building may be a museum, but Underworlds inside. Just go through the door, can't miss it. It's the door under the huge skull smack dab in front of you."

"OH! Oh wow I feel really stupid now." Lily grumbled softly, rubbing her face as heat filled her cheeks. The woman next to her only chuckled at her statement.

"It happens, tourist."

"Thanks for your help, Miss..."

"Willow."

"Willow? Wow, heehee that's kinda funny that we're both named after plants."

The woman raised an eyebrow at her in confusion before she continued.

"You're Willow. I'm Lily."

Willow started chuckling, shaking her head and giving her a strong pat on the shoulder as she returned to her patrol. "You are somethin else, tourist."

"You aren't the first one to tell ME that, hahaha!" Lily added her own giggles to the atmosphere as she started up the stairs, giving the other woman a wave goodbye as she pulled the museum doors open and stepped inside. In the back of her mind, Willow wondered why the girl hadn't commented on how ugly or scary she was, but shoved the thought away easily. Must not have been her first ghoul.

She didn't know how long she had been sitting there, staring at the huge animal on the pedestal. Maybe an hour? Hour and a half? She didn't know. All she knew is that it was a challenge to get the damn thing in her book, that's for sure.

Lily had been enthralled by the massive bone creature on the inside of the building, walking around it several times before stopping and plopping down on the dust covered floor and pulling out her book. She had wanted to put Willow in it badly, but thought better of it at the time. Staring at someone you just met for the first time for several hours was a little rude without context. This creature would be a nice replacement.

After sitting on the tile floor for two hours, she finally snapped the book shut and returned it to her pack with its partner, looking at her Pip-Boy. "Hm...I have enough time. Maybe I'll have a look around the place before going inside. Who knows what else I could find around here!"

It turned out to be a little bit of a bad idea. The neighboring offices on either side of Underworlds entrance were filled with ferals of all shapes and sizes, and even though she left them with some very valuable items to trade, she also left with a queasy stomach. Killing the ferals, no matter how merciful it was, was never easy for her.

Entering Underworld, however, proved to be a very pleasant surprise. All around her she saw ghouls of all kinds, milling about and performing their daily, or rather nightly, routines. She imagined that the place was more lively during the day when people were awake, but even so, as it was, she was still happy to be here among the walking works of art.

Lily caught hold of a man in a mechanics outfit, Winthrop she soon learned, and managed to get a basic layout of the whole place with no effort on her part. He seemed more than happy to tell her what was what and who was who in the little city, and was even happy to trade her some scrap metal for some stimpaks.

With her pack a little bit lighter, she headed up the staircase to her right and pushed open the door to Carol's place. Upon entering, she was immediately noticed by the woman behind the counter, who greeted her with a tired smile. She wore a blue sundress despite her appearance, what remained of her hair trailing down on either side of her head. She would have been even more beautiful with skin in the wanderers opinion, but as she was, she was still just as stunning. "Oh hello. Welcome to Carols place. Come on in, sweetie, I was just cleaning things up for the night."

Lily gave the tired woman an equally tired smile as she walked up to the counter. "Am I right in assuming that you're Carol?" After the woman nodded her head, now giving her a wary look, the wastelander pulled her pack from her shoulder with a brighter smile. "Oh good, then I can consider my job done. Just one second...Here it is." She pulled the thin paper out of her bag, watching relief flood the womans face and change to curiosity. "Gob from Megaton wanted me to give you this."

Carols eyes lit up as she eagerly took the letter from the girls hand. "You know Gob?! Oh I'm so glad to hear he has a friend as pretty as you around! That boy can be so timid around girls you know? How is he doing, is he alright?"

Fighting the heat rising in her cheeks, Lily pushed some loose bangs behind her ear, smile never falling. "I'm sure he says more about it in his letter, but yeah he's doing really well. Works at a bar and everything." She neglected to tell her about Moriarty and how miserable Gob truly was, but watching the womans face brighten as her eyes danced over the letter, it seemed too cruel to tell her the painful truth.

Carols gaze returned to hers, tears pricking her eyes, but her smile was genuine. "Thank you so much for coming all this way for this. It means so much to me. Gob is like a son to Greta and I, and knowing he's doing okay is such a relief."

"It's no problem. I was headed this way anyway so it wasn't out of my way."

"At least let me pay you for the trip. It's the least that I can do for you."

Opening her mouth to protest, Lil paused in thought before giving her a sheepish smile. "A-actually...if you had a room to rent...that would be great."

Carol smiled and nodded in understanding. "We do have a room open for you to use, Miss..?"

"Oh gosh that was way rude of me sorry. I'm Lily." She stuck her hand out to the ghoul, much to the other woman's surprise as she smiled at her and shook it happily.

"Lily. Right this way."

Lily got up early the next morning with her book and pencil. She put both Carol and Greta into her book during breakfast before having a brief conversation with the Ghoullettes. Carol happily told her the location to GNR. "Now remember. There are super-mutants and Mirelurks and Raiders a-"

"Yes mama, I got it." She said without thinking, freezing in place, her eyes darting up sheepishly at the woman behind the counter. It had come out on it's own, what with Carol sounding just like a mother hen all over her, and Lily couldn't help the slip.

But she was grinning from ear to ear, or at least she would be if she HAD ears remaining, and chuckled, the other female ghoul grumbling softly about 'another damn stray' as Carol waved the comment away. "Just trying to make sure you make it back in one piece, is all sweetheart. Don't want you to become raider chow out there."

Lily felt the heat rush up in her cheeks as she finished stuffing the food she bought into her pack, fighting the rising urge to dash out of the place with her head in her bag. "I know. Thank you for your concern, Carol. I think I'll be alright though, it isn't too far from what the map says. Just about a day? Not even? I'll be back before you know it, no wor- Oh darn..."

"What's wrong?"

"I forgot I needed some alcohol...Shoot. And I was ready to head out too. I swear I would forget my own head if it wasn't on my damn shoulders every day."

Carol chuckled at the comment while Greta rolled her eyes and pointed across the way. "If its booze you want, go talk to Ahzrukhal. He runs the bar over there. Just be careful. He's a damn snake that will try to milk every cap out of you that he can manage to grab. Greedy bastard.."

Lily nodded slowly as she heaved her pack up onto her shoulders, taking Gretas advice to heart. "I'll watch him. But I could really use a few bottles. It would be better to go prepared for Mirelurks and not find any then to actually find some and not be prepared."

Carol tilted her head as the young woman began to walk out. "How does Alcohol work on Mirelurks?"

Lily simply cast a smile over her shoulder and waved at them with one word. "Molotovs!"

As Lily stepped into the Ninth Circle, the atmosphere seemed to take a completely different turn. It no longer felt warm and friendly but dark and cold. Ghouls hunched over their drinks began to murmur to one another as she squared her shoulders and walked up to the bar. She was aware of the eyes on her the minute she stepped into the room, but she ignored the uncomfortable feeling, keeping her focus.

The Ghoul behind it in a filthy pre-war suit gave her a...interesting...smile. He smelled caps, and he knew how to get them. Greta wasn't lying about him being a greedy bastard, and Lily could tell just by the glint in his eye as he addressed her. "Well well. It's been awhile since I had a smoothskin as lovely as you walk into my bar." Instead of bringing warmth, the compliment brought her an icy feeling, and she fought the shiver that ran down her spine to force a smile on her face. "What can I get for you, my dear?"

"I need three full bottles of high grade whiskey. The highest if you have enough of it." Lily gave a small tilt to her head and a little more sugar to her smile as she added "Please?"

She knew how to barter, despite her appearance and 'obvious naiveity' that most shop owners took for granted. She knew that with just the right amount of poking and prodding, the right amount of sugar or spice, she could get what she wanted in exchange for little.

As the shock of the request wore off, Ahzrukhal replaced the look of surprise with a smirk and continued to wipe the glass in his hand instead of fulfilling her order. "Well now, that's quite a request coming from such a fine lady like yourself. May I interest you in a finer liquor more suited for such a visage of beauty?"

"Oh I think you misunderstood. I'm not gonna drink it all, silly!"

The cleaning stopped as he fixed her with a look of curiosity, his eyes briefly flashing from her to the room behind her before returning. "No? Then may I ask what you plan on doing with it?"

"Other things." She said as sweetly as could be, waving a hand to dismiss the question. "Why do you care, though? As long as I have caps and you have the booze, I don't think there should be a problem, right?"

He watched her with those sickly green eyes for quite a while, and Lily had to fight the urge to shift under his gaze. Then he smiled and nodded, setting the glass and rag down with a chuckle. "I can't argue with THAT logic.

He watched silently as Ahzrukhal pulled three bottles of booze from the shelf and set them in front of her, rambling about how the 'finest women deserve the finest liquor' and how he was more than HAPPY to serve such a lady. She didn't take the compliment as she should have, no heat reaching her cheeks as she smiled at him and asked for the price. He rattled off a number and she paused before messing with her pip-boy.

Whatever she said next made the greasy ghoul behind the counter twitch with anger, his smile wavering as she returned her gaze to him. He pulled the smile back to his lips and rattled off some kind of excuse to her. She was quiet and thoughtful as she looked back at her pip-boy.

'Probably caught him in a lie.'

She shook her head and shrugged, reaching down and grabbing the strap of the bag at her feet. His fingers twitched in anticipation before Ahzrukhal stopped her. As the smoothskin straightened, she pulled a piece of raven hair back behind her ear, listening calmly. She was young. VERY young. Maybe 13, 14 years old he supposed. How the hell was she managing to stay alive all this time? How long had she been out of her little vault? She wasn't going to last another week out in the wastes with how innocent she acted.

Her smile shattered his thoughts as she nodded her head and reached into her bag. Again, his fingers twitched, waiting. But she pulled a bag out instead of a weapon, pulling out the amount of caps that Ahzrukhal had requested and counting them out for him before giving him another god damned smile. For some reason, it irked him that she was so cheerful. Everyone else in this god forsaken place was fucking miserable, yet she stood out with a slight twitch of her mouth that made the room seem so much brighter than before. He didn't know if he should be grateful for it or not. He decided not.

Hauling her bag onto her shoulder and picking the three bottles up, she walked over to a table across from him and sat them down, sitting her bag in the chair next to her.

As he watched her closely, she pulled out a knife (which made his fingers twitch in anticipation once more) and an old rag. She cut three long strips from it before storing the knife once more in her bag and turning to the bottles. Popping the cap off of each one, she stuffed the cloth into the opening of each one, leaving just a small bit hanging out of the top of them as she caped them once more and twisted the tops, making sure they were secure before depositing them into her bag. She pulled it over her shoulder, wiping her hands on her pants and walked out the door without another word, her smile still plastered to her face as she left.

He just watched a small teenager make three molotov cocktails without needing a single manual.

Maybe she was more capable than he thought.

"Charon, come here."

Charon snapped his head towards the bar, pushing off the wall he leaned against from one day to the next and walked over to the bar to his employer, feeling his muscles sigh at the new movements put into them.

"I have job for you to do."