With that simple move, Arl had saved him from the other redhead, he was more than aware. He didn't make any hint that he planned on shifting away, glad that someone had come to his rescue at least. He nodded to Nova as she mentioned the price of a simple bath again and cleared his throat, trying to get the situation out of his mind entirely.
"Anyway, what were you saying?." Simon drew his attention back to Ceara, trying to remember what she'd asked him. "Machines I'm not all that shabby with, and I helped out with maintenance a few times with the doors and that kind of thing, so I know my way around soddering tools. Not perfect or anything, but I can get the job done. Electronics I can't find my way around worth a crap though. Why? What did you need?"
Arlington kind of owed him, that whole saving her from slavers thing. Besides it wasn't like she had to do much, just hint to Nova that she might have a little crush on Simon. Nova was sweet and treated Arlington kindly, so she figured it might work. She wasn't like most of the prostitutes that Arlington had met in the wastes.
Her attention lifted from her crayons again, curious about what this talk of building was. What were people going to be building? Was it going to be pretty? She couldn't really build things herself but she was a really good helper and she could go get wrenches and stuff!
"What're you up to kiddo?" Jericho wondered, feeling a bit more at ease now that Nova had moved away. He nodded at her statement about Megaton, adding, "S'more of a... whatsit? Frontier town, whatevah th'fuck that means. Ain't a propah city like Rivet City is. Mosta th'folks that actually live here're no-hopers," he raised the bottle of whiskey in toast before saying, "Rest'a th'people're just passin' through."
Ceara didn't seem overly steamed at him like he'd thought, and the change in subject seemed like as good a time as any to just push past it. He was a bit overly sensitive himself at the moment, acutely aware of any misstep... usually after he'd already made it, unfortunately. Jericho took solace in the fact that he could at least identify when he'd done something wrong at this point. The poor kid would be forty before he got the full hang of it.
"What sort of... how do you make ends meet?" Mary's brows drew together. She understood the term, but surely there was someplace where they provided food and water for free. How did people not starve to death or die of dehydration? Jericho raised his eyebrows and glanced at Ceara, shifting in his chair. She needed to give that girl a fucking crash course in 'Welcome to the Wastelands, You're Fucked 101'. Seemed like it was a goddamn miracle she'd even made it as far as she had without getting eaten by radscorpions. He'd do it himself, but he was pretty sure the woman might have a heart attack if he talked to her directly.