Through the hole, Dorian saw the figure pause a short distance away before slowly walking off after waiting for a few seconds. He let out a silent breath but still didn't move an inch. This was how it always happened in horror movies. The person being stalked by the killer would let down their guard, then get jumped by the killer and die.
Five minutes passed in silence before Dorian actually let his guard down. But he still did not leave his hiding spot until another ten minutes had passed, wanting to make sure that whoever might have been around that area would have left. When he felt it was okay to leave, he slowly crawled out of the hole, followed by Bolt.
Unfortunately for him, he had not predicted that a whole host of people would be standing a short distance away, staring at him as if they had been waiting for him to crawl out of the hole at any moment.
"Grrrr..." Bolt sensed Dorian's apprehension and also showed hostility. He was learning to associate others that looked like Dorian to mean trouble. Especially after the last duo tried running off with Dorian.
"Hold on, we mean you no harm." One of the people in the group stepped forward. He was a middle aged man with a long scar running from just below his eyebrow, down to his jaw. The scar ran over an eye and the eyes was blind. He had dark skin and his white hair was packed up into a ponytail.
"That's what the last group said." Dorian muttered under his breath and the man raised an eyebrow. It seemed that he had heard Dorian's words regardless of how Dorian had reduced his voice.
"We know of your interaction with the people from the Oasis. I assure you, we are not with them. There is no need to view us in the same light as them." The man said, his voice calm and steady. It made Dorian want to trust him and calm down, but he still felt uneasy.
[His ability makes it easier for people to trust him, but he does not seem to be untruthful.] Psyker provided some useful insight on the matter.
'Oh? What kind of ability is that?' Dorian asked, intrigued.
[I believe it is a Shifter ability. A side effect is that it is able to more easily convince others to let down their guard.] Psyker responded.
"Alright, I'm willing to listen. But I don't trust you." Dorian eventually responded to the man.
"All we are asking for is that you listen for now. Perhaps later, we can move on from there." The man smiled and nodded, stepping forward a bit to put himself separate from his people.
"My name is Dominic. I am the leader of a camp of Wanderers. We set down camp along the outskirts of this area some days ago. While exploring, we heard a commotion, which just happened to be your altercation with the Hunters. We were able to spot you fleeing and followed you here, which is how we got to where we are now." Dominic explained.
[He speaks the truth.]
"I see how that sounds possible. But even if it is true, how can I trust you?" Dorian still remained outwardly skeptical.
"Well, not to brag or intimidate, but if we had bad intentions, then we would not be talking right now. We have enough strength on our side to overpower you and your companion." Dominic said confidently.
[Truth.]
Dorian's expression shook. He did not even need Psyker to confirm that one for him. It was obvious that he was way in over his head if he were to compare strength with this group.
"...I understand. So, what do you want?" Dorian asked Dominic, feeling much more helpless and weary.
"Well, considering your conflict with the Hunters, and the fact that you do not seem to be a maniac like the Lost Ones, I figured you would fit right in with us. We came here to offer you an invite to join our group." Dominic finally revealed his intentions.
"...You want to...recruit me?" Dorian's eyebrows went up.
"Precisely." Dominic nodded.
"I, um... I would like to think on it, but I don't have a place to think on it..." Dorian rubbed the back of his neck.
He was alone at this point in time with no fixed place he would shelter. Being offered this olive branch was nice and all, but he would like to think about whatever disadvantages there might be if he jumped into this offer.
.
.
"Dammit!" Dora kicked the side door of the car she and Gun had been traveling in.
"Don't damage it more." Gun grunted at her as he stepped out of the car. The duo drew in strange looks as people wondered why Dora was fuming and what had wrecked the car like so.
"Not like it will get any worse." Dora rolled her eyes before sighing and trying to regulate her breathing to get her temper under control.
"Well, someone kick my behind and call me willy. What the hell happened?!" Someone called out from behind Gun and the duo turned to face him. It was a man with red hair and a well built stature. He shared a few faint resemblances with Gun, but it was nothing too drastic. However, the two of them were actually cousins!
"I'll tell you later, Devin. First, we have to go in for a debriefing." Gun sighed before turning around and walking out of the garage that the car had been parked in. Dora followed closely behind him. As his field partner, it was imperative that she followed along and attended the briefing as well.
Devin watched his cousin walk away and shrugged. The briefing was more important. And besides, he would always find out what happened when Gun came back from his debriefing.
"See ya later, cuz." Devin waved before turning back to the car. He was already thinking of how to start the repairs on the car. As this was his garage that he presided over, it would be easy to make repairs to the car and find out more about what happened from here.