☢ R a d i o a c t i v e ☢ [[ M // ℓonesomє ]]

The sun's unrelenting rays bore down on the landscape like a tyrant and sucked the earth of whatever moisture it dared try to keep from itself. Even the washed-out blue of the sky was lacking any real clouds. The ground was littered in cracks and fissures which spread out along the parched red dirt like a net or web, and what little vegetation dared to grow was stunted from the poor nutrients it held. Shade was a myth, and clean, drinkable water was a legend.

"Useless. All of it! None of this is worth anything!" Rowan growled, throwing a scrap piece of rusted metal with a little more force than was necessary at the ground. His gloved hands tightened into fists, and he kicked a rock hard at the heap of junk. "She's not gonna give us a thing for any of this," he added with a quiet sigh. The air whipped around him and sent a flurry of dust and old paper several feet into the cloudless blue sky. Even the breeze was hot; it reminded him of what it might feel like to be locked in an oven.

An old peaches can clattered along the ground beside him noisily and he pivoted on the heels of his boots rapidly, causing another small cloud of dirt to break free and take flight. His golden brown eyes narrowed dangerously. "What are you doing? I already searched through that pile, there's nothing worth our time there," he spat, his patience wearing away like the landscape itself. His words were answered by a cocked hip and a sassy perk of an eyebrow. Pip, whose clear eyes were screaming haughtiness, beckoned Rowan over to her and stepped to the side so he could look at the rubbish. He complied with a heavy sigh and stomped over to her as he adjusted his gloves. "Remind me what I'm look for? I see nothing but junk, Pip," he said and crossed his arms. The woman beside him huffed in exasperation and rolled her eyes before reaching down. Her slender finger curled around the loop of a strap and as she lifted it the object took the familiar shape of goggles. With a wide grin, she placed them over her eyes and angled her chin up into the air, clearly very proud of her find. Rowan's unimpressed facade cracked and he had to press his lips into a hard line to keep from smiling.

"You're an idiot," he muttered playfully and snapped the goggles as he brushed past her and started walking off. Pipsqueak made a soft 'oomf' sound and adjusted the goggles on so they would rest on her cap safely before she dashed after him, her boots scuffing on the ground. She pushed him as she came to a stop at his side and giggled. Barely managing to keep himself from falling over, Rowan righted himself and sighed at her. "Where did the other's run off to?" He asked after a moment and stopped to glance behind them, but the only response he got from her was a shrug of her shoulders.