Cammie ate silently as Mikayla ate her breakfast as well. She wondered what this town and all the unusual people had to do with Snipe. She thought back to the odd dream she had on the train. An emphasis on secrets was a massive part of her journey so far. She had to figure out secrets and keep her entire motive for her journey a secret. She wondered just how much she could keep from Mikayla. Cammie continued to be lost in thought, even to the point of just stabbing her empty plate, still thinking there's food there.
"Um, Cammie, you know you're plate's empty, right?" Mikayla interrupted, jolting Cammie from her thoughts for the umpteenth time.
"O-Oh, uh..." Cammie stared at her empty plate that she had been stabbing for the past five minutes. She wondered if she got lost in thought this much back home. "Yeah, I'm just...um...thinking. That's all Mikayla, I swear." Cammie replied. Mikayla smiled and continued eating. Cammie looked back at her plate and placed her fork down. She sighed and sipped more of her coffee. She found it somewhat odd to be staring down a mug of coffee, she was much more of a tea drinker. Why did she order coffee? She thought as she drank, but the warmth of the coffee drowned out her thoughts. She closed her eyes and pondered, waiting for Mikayla to be done.
"So, you said you were here to visit a friend, right?" Mikayla asked between chews. Cammie had to make sure she worded her responses correctly, so she didn't tip off Mikayla about Snipe.
"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine. I haven't seen him in a long time, so I thought it'd be good to meet up." Cammie was proud of herself. She managed to keep the air of secrets without a single lie.
"Well, after we set you up at my office, filling in paper work and all that jazz, we can goo visit your friend, provided nothing comes up, of course." Mikayla smiled as she finished her meal. Cammie started to sweat a little, causing her hair to droop more. She tensely stroked it and thought about how to distract Mikayla from Snipe.
"S-So," Cammie started, attempting to derail Mikayla's thoughts, like Mikayla had done a few times to Cammie's thoughts, "Can you tell me more about..um..this town, you know, it's history and stuff." Cammie hoped that this would be enough to derail Mikayla from Snipe.
"Oh, sure Cammie. Just hang on a second." Mikayla shuffled around and pulled out her wallet as Harley came back with her smile wide on her face. Harley handed her the check and Mikayla paid for it all. Cammie attempted to reach for the money she got from Lindy, but Mikayla stopped her. "Don't worry, I got this." Harley went to go get Mikayla's change and returned shortly after. Cammie, not letting Mikayla somewhat make her appear cheap, paid Harley the appropriate $12.28 tip. Harley smiled and walked off to other customers. "Well, ready to go visit my office Cammie?"
Cammie nodded and they both got up and walked out. Before they did, Cammie made sure to make a quick sketch of the diner and details. She caught up with Mikayla, who waited patiently outside and walked off to Mikayla's office. Cammie took note of all landscape that she saw. There were various houses and other small shops, most of them closed today, which, given that it was Sunday, made sense. However, there was one that particularly drew her attention. It was a large building with a banner on it that said "Relics of Yester-Earth."
"Hey, Mikayla, is that a museum?" Cammie asked. Mikayla stopped and looked at what Cammie was looking at.
"Oh, yeah, it's a relatively new thing. It's still in progress, but it's open. Wanna go check it out? We got time. It's not like I'm really on any schedule or anything. If they need me, they can just call me." Mikayla lead the way to the museum, but Cammie stopped her.
"It's alright Mikayla. We can do it later. Besides, if there are renovations, like you say, it'd probably be better to come back when they are done." As much as Cammie was interested in what the "Relics of Yester-Earth" was, she was more focused on getting everything situated with her situation here in this community. Mikayla nodded and continued to lead the way to her office. Cammie made a quick sketch of the museum and followed Mikayla. After about 45 minutes of walking near endlessly, with Cammie sketching what impressive buildings she saw, the two of them finally reached Mikayla's office. "Are there no vehicles? I didn't see any cars or anything."
"No, that nuclear blast rendered all our cars useless. Thankfully, everything is close enough that we can just walk. I'm just so glad for the TransNART Train. Now, people can visit our quaint little town." Mikayla just radiated happiness at the thought of people visiting. Cammie assumed that Swan Valley wasn't really a big tourist attraction, which helps, as there wouldn't be as many people to deal with during her investigations. "Well, here we are Cammie. My home sweet home."
Mikayla's office seemed fairly quaint. It wasn't too large, about the size of a suburban house with two floors. It stood about a story and was very box shaped with a flat roof on top. It was all around lightly tan colored with square windows. Cammie could see 4 windows from the front, only able to see into the two on the lower level. The windows weren't large, and Cammie estimated they were about one and a half feet by one and a half feet. The front door was large and wooden, lacking any sort of fancy decoration or anything of the sort. Cammie glanced around at the surroundings of Mikayla's home/office.
To the right of it was a larger, dark grey building. The walls were at least two stories high and barbed wire covered the tops. There were gates around the entrance and what appeared to be watch towers on the corners. Mikayla glanced over at what Cammie was looking at after she unlocked the door.
"Yep, that's our jail. There aren't really many people in there because a lot of our citizens are well-mannered. Still, it's good to have to enforce the fact that defying the laws here means consequences." Mikayla smiled as she thought. Cammie smiled back at her. Mikayla must take a lot of pride in her job, which makes sense. "Anyways," Mikayla started as she walked in with Cammie following her. "Just have a seat over there while I go get the paperwork." Mikayla gestured to an orange couch to the left in what appeared to look like a waiting room. Cammie took a seat as Mikayla walked off to the right and disappeared behind a wall. Cammie walked through the archway, took a look around, sketching what she could see in the room, and took a seat.
The walls were a pale orange tone with wooden siding up halfway. There were various news clippings and pictures framed hanging around the walls. About half of the room was taken up by reddish orange couches that laid in fashionable array against the walls. A large bookshelf filled with books was on the far wall to Cammie's left. There was only other entrance or exit to the room besides the one Cammie entered from. It was next to the bookshelf and had a large oak door. As Cammie was about to investigate more about the oak door, Mikayla returned.
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Mikayla smiled and handed Cammie a form to fill out. "I see you were checking out that door. That leads to the spare office, which will become yours. If you want, you can go check it out. Come get me when you're finished." With that, Mikayla walked back out of the room. Cammie turned back to the oak door and opened it.
Inside, the interior was very well kept. There was a large oak desk that sat in the middle of the room. There were three chairs, two small, basic chairs sat in front of the desk and a larger, leather chair sat behind the desk. Empty bookshelves lined the walls, except for the back wall. The back wall was largely taken up by a massive window that allowed much of the sunlight to peer into the room. There were large blinds that covered the windows and green drapes. Cammie walked over and sat in the large chair behind the desk. She placed the paperwork down and started filling it out, most of which were easy questions. The ticking of a clock above the doorway annoyed Cammie at first, but, then the rhythmic ticking became almost like a metronome for Cammie. she lost track of time when Mikayla opened the door and entered.
"Hey Cammie, you done yet?" Mikayla asked calmly, peering through the door. Cammie looked up and handed Mikayla the completely filled in paperwork. She looked at the clock and was surprised that already three hours had passed. "Hmm...impressive. Very nice. This will be good to have on hand. I'll keep it in the safe in my office." Mikayla stuck the paperwork under her arm. "Now then, I need you answer something truthfully." Cammie nodded as she sat back down. Mikayla quickly slammed the door behind her, locked it, and pulled her gun out of her holster and aimed it at Cammie.
"Now, tell me why you're really here. In full details. Now."
"Um, Cammie, you know you're plate's empty, right?" Mikayla interrupted, jolting Cammie from her thoughts for the umpteenth time.
"O-Oh, uh..." Cammie stared at her empty plate that she had been stabbing for the past five minutes. She wondered if she got lost in thought this much back home. "Yeah, I'm just...um...thinking. That's all Mikayla, I swear." Cammie replied. Mikayla smiled and continued eating. Cammie looked back at her plate and placed her fork down. She sighed and sipped more of her coffee. She found it somewhat odd to be staring down a mug of coffee, she was much more of a tea drinker. Why did she order coffee? She thought as she drank, but the warmth of the coffee drowned out her thoughts. She closed her eyes and pondered, waiting for Mikayla to be done.
"So, you said you were here to visit a friend, right?" Mikayla asked between chews. Cammie had to make sure she worded her responses correctly, so she didn't tip off Mikayla about Snipe.
"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine. I haven't seen him in a long time, so I thought it'd be good to meet up." Cammie was proud of herself. She managed to keep the air of secrets without a single lie.
"Well, after we set you up at my office, filling in paper work and all that jazz, we can goo visit your friend, provided nothing comes up, of course." Mikayla smiled as she finished her meal. Cammie started to sweat a little, causing her hair to droop more. She tensely stroked it and thought about how to distract Mikayla from Snipe.
"S-So," Cammie started, attempting to derail Mikayla's thoughts, like Mikayla had done a few times to Cammie's thoughts, "Can you tell me more about..um..this town, you know, it's history and stuff." Cammie hoped that this would be enough to derail Mikayla from Snipe.
"Oh, sure Cammie. Just hang on a second." Mikayla shuffled around and pulled out her wallet as Harley came back with her smile wide on her face. Harley handed her the check and Mikayla paid for it all. Cammie attempted to reach for the money she got from Lindy, but Mikayla stopped her. "Don't worry, I got this." Harley went to go get Mikayla's change and returned shortly after. Cammie, not letting Mikayla somewhat make her appear cheap, paid Harley the appropriate $12.28 tip. Harley smiled and walked off to other customers. "Well, ready to go visit my office Cammie?"
Cammie nodded and they both got up and walked out. Before they did, Cammie made sure to make a quick sketch of the diner and details. She caught up with Mikayla, who waited patiently outside and walked off to Mikayla's office. Cammie took note of all landscape that she saw. There were various houses and other small shops, most of them closed today, which, given that it was Sunday, made sense. However, there was one that particularly drew her attention. It was a large building with a banner on it that said "Relics of Yester-Earth."
"Hey, Mikayla, is that a museum?" Cammie asked. Mikayla stopped and looked at what Cammie was looking at.
"Oh, yeah, it's a relatively new thing. It's still in progress, but it's open. Wanna go check it out? We got time. It's not like I'm really on any schedule or anything. If they need me, they can just call me." Mikayla lead the way to the museum, but Cammie stopped her.
"It's alright Mikayla. We can do it later. Besides, if there are renovations, like you say, it'd probably be better to come back when they are done." As much as Cammie was interested in what the "Relics of Yester-Earth" was, she was more focused on getting everything situated with her situation here in this community. Mikayla nodded and continued to lead the way to her office. Cammie made a quick sketch of the museum and followed Mikayla. After about 45 minutes of walking near endlessly, with Cammie sketching what impressive buildings she saw, the two of them finally reached Mikayla's office. "Are there no vehicles? I didn't see any cars or anything."
"No, that nuclear blast rendered all our cars useless. Thankfully, everything is close enough that we can just walk. I'm just so glad for the TransNART Train. Now, people can visit our quaint little town." Mikayla just radiated happiness at the thought of people visiting. Cammie assumed that Swan Valley wasn't really a big tourist attraction, which helps, as there wouldn't be as many people to deal with during her investigations. "Well, here we are Cammie. My home sweet home."
Mikayla's office seemed fairly quaint. It wasn't too large, about the size of a suburban house with two floors. It stood about a story and was very box shaped with a flat roof on top. It was all around lightly tan colored with square windows. Cammie could see 4 windows from the front, only able to see into the two on the lower level. The windows weren't large, and Cammie estimated they were about one and a half feet by one and a half feet. The front door was large and wooden, lacking any sort of fancy decoration or anything of the sort. Cammie glanced around at the surroundings of Mikayla's home/office.
To the right of it was a larger, dark grey building. The walls were at least two stories high and barbed wire covered the tops. There were gates around the entrance and what appeared to be watch towers on the corners. Mikayla glanced over at what Cammie was looking at after she unlocked the door.
"Yep, that's our jail. There aren't really many people in there because a lot of our citizens are well-mannered. Still, it's good to have to enforce the fact that defying the laws here means consequences." Mikayla smiled as she thought. Cammie smiled back at her. Mikayla must take a lot of pride in her job, which makes sense. "Anyways," Mikayla started as she walked in with Cammie following her. "Just have a seat over there while I go get the paperwork." Mikayla gestured to an orange couch to the left in what appeared to look like a waiting room. Cammie took a seat as Mikayla walked off to the right and disappeared behind a wall. Cammie walked through the archway, took a look around, sketching what she could see in the room, and took a seat.
The walls were a pale orange tone with wooden siding up halfway. There were various news clippings and pictures framed hanging around the walls. About half of the room was taken up by reddish orange couches that laid in fashionable array against the walls. A large bookshelf filled with books was on the far wall to Cammie's left. There was only other entrance or exit to the room besides the one Cammie entered from. It was next to the bookshelf and had a large oak door. As Cammie was about to investigate more about the oak door, Mikayla returned.
"Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long." Mikayla smiled and handed Cammie a form to fill out. "I see you were checking out that door. That leads to the spare office, which will become yours. If you want, you can go check it out. Come get me when you're finished." With that, Mikayla walked back out of the room. Cammie turned back to the oak door and opened it.
Inside, the interior was very well kept. There was a large oak desk that sat in the middle of the room. There were three chairs, two small, basic chairs sat in front of the desk and a larger, leather chair sat behind the desk. Empty bookshelves lined the walls, except for the back wall. The back wall was largely taken up by a massive window that allowed much of the sunlight to peer into the room. There were large blinds that covered the windows and green drapes. Cammie walked over and sat in the large chair behind the desk. She placed the paperwork down and started filling it out, most of which were easy questions. The ticking of a clock above the doorway annoyed Cammie at first, but, then the rhythmic ticking became almost like a metronome for Cammie. she lost track of time when Mikayla opened the door and entered.
"Hey Cammie, you done yet?" Mikayla asked calmly, peering through the door. Cammie looked up and handed Mikayla the completely filled in paperwork. She looked at the clock and was surprised that already three hours had passed. "Hmm...impressive. Very nice. This will be good to have on hand. I'll keep it in the safe in my office." Mikayla stuck the paperwork under her arm. "Now then, I need you answer something truthfully." Cammie nodded as she sat back down. Mikayla quickly slammed the door behind her, locked it, and pulled her gun out of her holster and aimed it at Cammie.
"Now, tell me why you're really here. In full details. Now."