closed rp Post

[assjerky]

CLOSED RP POST with okiedokies art by pignk

CODE

Comments

[assjerky]

The Ghoul made a vague sound of acknowledgement, lapsing into silence as he screwed the top back on his canteen and stowed it. He'd probably still call her Vaultie when it was just the two of them, but around anyone else, well. Might be best not to advertise it.

"Don't look half bad on you, neither," he remarked--probably the closest thing to a compliment to come out of his mouth.

[okiedokies]

It would probably be fine if he called her Vaultie when it was just the two of them, like it was his own personal nickname for her that he wouldn’t share with anyone else.

“Thank you,” she looked pleased because she didn’t want to look silly and she figured that him saying that meant the clothes worked as they wanted. Then her smile grew as she patted the jacket. “There are also a lot of pockets.”

[assjerky]

The Ghoul hummed softly in amusement at her obvious delight, eyeing the road ahead of them as they headed deeper into the Mojave. "Yeah, somethin' them vault suits lacked, huh," he remarked, considering saying more but ultimately deciding against it. Telling her he knew that well, cause he was probably the first person to put one on, would open up a terrible, painful door. "Think we're getting close to the split in the highway. Real curious to see which way your daddy headed." Both led to New Vegas, but one was more direct--and more dangerous. Still, maybe the risk would be worth it to him, in that big tin can suit.

[okiedokies]

“Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with them but,” she trailed off with a shrug, feeling a momentary flash of guilt. Knowing what she did now twisted up how she felt about Vault-Tec and the vaults, so it left her feeling mixed when she went to say something bad about the suits after so many years, her entire life, of believing certain things in a certain way.

She looked over as he wondered out loud about the route her father could have taken. “Which way will we be going?”

[assjerky]

"Well we ain't marchin' into Deathclaw territory," the Ghoul drawled. "There's a third option too. Sayin' fuck it to the highway and cuttin' through the desert." He ran his tongue over his teeth and hummed thoughtfully. "Think taking the Eastern road's still our best bet. Have to be loaded down with supplies to survive that, an' theres no NCR patrols to keep things 'civilized' off the highway."

[okiedokies]

"I can agree to that, I would like to avoid Deathclaw territory very much," Lucy nodded before falling silent as he continued with their options, her gaze dropping briefly and then sweeping away. "I'm going to trust you to choose since you know this area and I don't, I'm going to rely on your choice. But if you ask me, Eastern road sounds like a good road to take."

[assjerky]

"It's the long way 'round, mind," the Ghoul pointed out, rolling a shoulder, his eyes focused on the cracked and broken road. He didn't add that if it weren't for her presence, he'd probably risk cutting through the desert. Weren't near as hard for him to survive those harsh conditions. "He took a shorter route, he'll get there 'fore we do. Means we'll have to pick up the trail." His lips twitched into a wry sort of smirk. "Lucky thing I'm real good at pickin' up trails."

[okiedokies]

He didn’t have to make the addition that they were choosing a different route because of her since it was easy to figure out. She glanced down the road, clearly considering telling him they could go the shorter, more dangerous route but she decided against it.

“I’m sorry,” she told him as she focused on him again. She waited for him to look at her before sighing softly. “It’s my fault we’re going the slow route, right? It’s going to slow you down in the search for your family.”

It seemed more of his conversation with her Dad was coming back to her.

[assjerky]

The Ghoul glanced at her with a raised eyebrow, then frowned, exhaling a sigh with a low sound deep in his chest, part thoughtful, part quiet exasperation. Couldn't say he didn't know this was coming, eventually. "Ain't your fault, Vaultie," he replied gruffly. "Been on this path for 200 years. Taking the highway ain't gonna make it take that much longer, in the grand scheme of things."

[okiedokies]

Lucy half expected him to react the same way he did when she asked who he was but found herself somewhat pleasantly surprised when he did. She was also relieved in the sense that he didn't blame her for having to slow down his search.

"You made it sound like my Dad knew where they were," She decided to push her luck, biting the inside of her cheek. "Were they in a vault?"

[assjerky]

"Yep. Just don't know where." He hesitated, scanning the horizon, sucking at his teeth. May as well just fuckin' rip the scab off. If he didn't, she'd keep picking at it. And he had implied he'd tell her how he knew her daddy. His steps slowed as he spoke, until he came to a stop, so they could stand face to face. "...My ex-wife. She worked for Vault-Tec. Your daddy was her assistant. He got himself a long freeze, reckon she did too. Her, an' my daughter both."

[okiedokies]

She looked pained as her heart ached for him, so much so that she didn't notice any other feeling she might have had at hearing him refer to his wife as an ex. At the same time, one shouldn't assume that someone being their ex meant that the feelings were gone. She knew feelings could be complicated after all.

"Your daughter?" She tilted her head to the side. "How old is she?"

[assjerky]

"She was 7." Wasn't what she'd asked, exactly, but he was fair sure that was what she meant. Honest answer to her exact question was, he didn't know. She could still be 7. She could be 77. She could already be dead and gone.

He didn't know, and not knowing was hell. Every goddamn day for 200 years. He turned and kept walking. All the shit he felt, thinking about Janey, he didn't want it showing on his face.

[okiedokies]

She knew what he was trying to say or not say. The probability that he didn't want to face and the uncertainty that most likely haunted him every day. It helped her to understand him a little more which she was sure probably bugged him too.

"When we find my father, I promise I will do whatever I can to make him tell you where they are," she said loudly so he would hear her even though he was trying to stride ahead so she couldn't see his face. She watched him to see if he would pause and look back, hoping he would see so he would see how serious she was. "I mean it, whatever I can."

[assjerky]

He didn't turn, but he did pause and glance back over his shoulder briefly. The Ghoul didn't have to see her face to know she said what she said with her whole chest. He'd thought she was full of shit when they'd first met, as phony as everything else that'd come from Vault-Tec. But she wasn't. He hadn't decided what she was, yet. Quite possibly, something entirely new.

All that to say, he did believe her. He also knew there were limits to what she could do, mentally and emotionally. He thought maybe she knew that, too. Whatever I can was different from Whatever it takes.

"...Yeah." He clicked his tongue to call Dogmeat from her wandering ahead with her nose to turn ground, and kept walking.

[okiedokies]

Maybe she was overestimating the influence she had over her father but she had managed to convince him to give Moldaver the code for the cold fusion, she was sure that she could convince him to at least tell her where the Ghoul's family was.

She also knew there was no reason for the Ghoul to believe her and she could see him pause as he listened to her. She figured his response was as good as she was going to get and she didn't really need anything more because that one word was more than enough.

Giving a determined little nod, she hurried after him.

[assjerky]

He pushed their pace harder than he usually would have, but he thought there was a spit of land along the way with a couple old houses they could keep warm in, assuming nobody'd claimed them. Turned out his memory was good, but even he was starting to get worn out by the time he'd been proven correct.

He almost didn't hear the barely audible sound of an armed mine before it was too late. Dogmeat sure didn't, and she yipped in alarm, her warning focusing him in. Lucky for them the Vaultie was being cautious, moving into the mostly intact house slowly and hesitantly. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back, wrapping his other arm around her to hold her back against his chest. "Shh," he hushed softly in her ear. "Hear that?" Dogmeat whined softly and bumped their calves as she peeked around them. "That right there's a good way to lose a leg." He took a slow step back, nudging Lucy behind him, then crouching down to get a look at the mine. It was a ramshackle home job, and was covered in an inch of dust and dirt. Interesting.

"Back up, Vaultie. My arm blows off, I can sew it back on." He waited until she retreated before he reached out to carefully disarm the pressure plate, picking up the mine and eyeing it curiously. Pretty bog standard, but it'd been there a while. So long he was surprised it hasn't gone off spontaneously. Whoever has set it, for whatever reason, had left and never come back. Or--a less pleasant option--they were still in there.

Could've just picked another spot to camp, but now he was curious. He took out his sawed off, ready to shoot if he had to, but he doubted anything in there was living. Mostly he focused on keeping an eye out for anymore mines, or tripwire.

[okiedokies]

Lucy didn't want to admit that she was tired but she swore she could feel the ache in her legs and everywhere else in her body by the time they reached the split of land he had mentioned to her earlier in the day. She also didn't want to admit that she felt a bit nauseous at times but she was writing it off to having not eaten much beyond a couple snack cakes and some of the cactus fruit they had saved.

She was relieved when they found the houses though and she wanted to rush ahead but she knew better, so she was playing it cautiously as she followed him. Maybe she wasn't cautious enough though as she almost didn't hear the click until suddenly he was hauling her back against him, causing her to squeak in surprise as he kept an arm around her and brought his mouth to her ear. She was instantly alert even as his warm breath fanned across her skin, her eyes darting this way and that before she nodded slowly.

Shifting behind him when he let go of her, she looked concerned as she glanced at the ground and then back to him again. "Can't we throw something at it? What happens if it's more powerful than you think and you get hurt?"

She had reached out to touch him, her hand brushing against his shoulder before she fell back further at his insistence. Biting her lip, she watched him, tension radiating throughout her body as he picked up the mine and eyed it. Glancing at the mine and then back, she licked her lips. "Do you think..."

Shit, he was taking out his gun and so she did the same, pulling her gun from her holster as she glanced at the house.

[assjerky]

They could've thrown something at it or shot it from a distance, but that wouldn't get them a mine he could patch up and use if needed. Waste not want not. Sometimes the risk was worth it.

Thankfully it was the only one...and they didn't have to move much further into the house to see where said mine had been made, a makeshift workbench with all kinds of spare parts laid out on it, also covered in a thin layer of desert dust. He was pretty sure he could sus out what'd happened; most likely the squatters bones were littering the Wasteland, a victim of an angry yao guai or chemed up raider. Or they'd been snatched up by the legion, for slave labor or worse.

Sucked for them. Lucky for him and the Vaultie. His stance relaxed a little as he swept the rest of the house, then started scavenging. "There's a hearth over there, Vaultie," he remarked, jerking his chin towards said stone construct that already scraps of burned wood in it. "See if you can get a fire started."

[okiedokies]

She could see that he was aiming to keep the mine and she wondered how safe it was but The Ghoul seemed to be well versed in these things, so she left him to it. Especially once he decided the house was safe for them with no sign of actual life inside. Thankfully, unlike the last house she had seen, there were no bodies either.

Her gaze still flickered to the broken table nearby, the memory flashing through her mind before she willed it away and continued to look around. At least until The Ghoul drew her attention to the stone construct, causing her to perk up with a smile as building a fire was something she had learned. Not that they had used fires in the Vault but it was still something she had learned.

"Okey dokey," she told him, shrugging her backpack off and setting it down before she went over to the hearth. It took a little while to get all the wood she needed and then she was setting to the task, taking a few minutes before she managed to get a small fire going. She was triumphant looking as she glanced up at him, smiling brightly. "All done. What else do you need me to do?"

[assjerky]

The Ghoul looked up from the cabinet he was digging through, raised an eyebrow, glanced around her at the fire and back to her beaming face. Well. Wasn't she just eager to please.

He allowed himself a moment or two to entertain an impure thought about eagerness as it related to pleasin', then straightened from his crouch to pass her a couple of the items he'd dug up. A stimpak, a few vials of antivenom, a single dose of Med-X, and two cans of pork and beans. "You can stow those chems somewhere safe, and make somethin' to eat."

[okiedokies]

Blissfully unaware of the direction his thoughts had taken, Lucy rose to her feet to take the stuff from him, taking note of each item as she nodded and then turned to do as he instructed. She stowed the chems in her bag, making sure to pack them safely so they wouldn't break as she had already seen what would happen if that set of circumstances rolled around again.

Then she took the cans, studying them and glancing at the fire. Crouching down, she used a stick to nudge the fire, looking for an open spot where she could place the cans to cook without putting them in the open flame. Once she had a spot she was sure would work well, she used to pull tabs on the top to open the cans, giving the food a sniff to make sure it was okay before she set them in to cook.

As she waited, she opened her pack to pull out a bottle of Nuka-Cola, twisting the top off and checking him again. "Want a sip?"

[assjerky]

If it helped, he wouldn't sell her to shady gang associated organ dealers if his vials ended up smashed again. Nor did he have much need for stimpaks or antivenom; they were more for her. They wouldn't be lucky enough to avoid cazadors and night stalkers forever.

He kept searching for anything else useful and salvaged some ammo, some bits and bobs he thought he could rig some traps from, a spool of thread, a half empty carton of cigarettes, and probably best of all, a shoebox full of caps. Her offer came while he was moving some things off a bookshelf, so he paused to lean over and accept the offered bottle. "Keep the cap," he advised her, before he took a sip and handed her the bottle back. Spotting something on the shelf, he chuffed softly in amusement and pulled it off, giving it a little shake as he ambled back over to Lucy and handed it to her wordlessly. It was an old pre-war snow globe of the Vegas strip in its heyday--dusty, faded, and lacking some of the liquid, but a novel sight nonetheless. Between that, the faint taste of cola on his tongue, and the pleasant popping of the fire in the hearth, he felt a quiet little wave of nostalgia not entirely unpleasant.

His scavenging done, he dragged a mostly intact chair over and sat down heavily, tipped his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh. "Long fuckin' day, huh Vaultie."

[okiedokies]

The fact that he wouldn't sell her again would help immensely. She still didn't know if she was foolish to trust him entirely but they had come to a sort of truce. Plus his company wasn't unpleasant by any means. Sometimes she even found that she enjoyed herself just like she did now as she sat in front of the fire, watching him as he took a sip of the cola and passed it back to her.

Tucking the cap into one of her many pockets, she let her gaze drift to the fire while she brought the bottle to her lips and took a long sip. It was a nice change from all the water she had been drinking lately, radiated and not. She was letting her mind wander until she realized he was offering her something and she had to set the bottle down before she could take the snow globe from him.

She was entranced as she gave it a little shake, watching the white bits swirl up and she realized that it was supposed to be snow. It would have been more impressive if it had been full but she still liked it as she gave it another shake, chuckling softly to herself. She decided it was a nice distraction but didn't linger on it for long.

"It's been a long...few days," she admitted with a shadow of a smile, looking over. "Whatever I had imagined when I left the Vault, it certainly wasn't all this."

[assjerky]

"Oh I bet not," the Ghoul drawled with an amused hum, cracking one eye open enough to glance at her, lips twitching. "All that fuckin' optimism and can-do attitude, I reckon you thought you'd be back in time for supper." He stretched with a wince as muscles that could endure a lot were protesting the paces he'd put them through. "There's a mattress shoved back in that corner, you wanna sleep on something other than the ground for once." He doubted he had to add it weren't exactly clean. What was, up here in the real world.