closed rp Post

[assjerky]

CLOSED RP POST with okiedokies art by pignk

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[okiedokies]

"Thank you," the soft murmur slipped out of her with very little awareness as she was briefly aware of something being placed over her. She didn't hesitate, even in her sleep, to curl her fingers around the edge so she could tuck it around herself, grateful for the heat that seemed to sink into her. Completely unaware that it was the lingering heat of his body coming from his jacket.

Her hand peeked out briefly so she could scratch the top of Dogmeat's head, giving her easy affection without actually opening her eyes. Then she was tucking the jacket around her, letting herself sink back to a deeper sleep.

But for as exhausted as she was, some part of her remained aware of the fact that she wasn't somewhere completely safe. Still, she got a few hours of sleep until an hour or so before dawn when she started to stir again, a sleepy yawn escaping her as she shifted onto her back and struggled to open her eyes with a couple of slow blinks. Then the remembering seemed to click as she stiffened, shifting to sit up quickly as she looked around sharply until her gaze landed on him. There was a flare of awareness followed by wariness and then acceptance until she realized his jacket was covering her.

"Did you...," she sounded confused as she looked at his coat and then back to him.

[assjerky]

By the time she woke up he'd decided it was close enough to sunup to start the fire back up, and he was roasting chunks of meat on skewers over the flames. He grunted in response, and immediately reached over to drag his coat off of her. "Your teeth was clacking loud enough to draw every radscorpion 'twixt here and Good springs," he drawled, swapping the skewer from hand to hand to shrug his coat back on. Felt fuckin' naked without it He waited until she was a bit more properly awake before he shoved the skewer at her. "Here. Best not to ask questions, just eat it." A pause, then a low chuckle. "And if what I think's goin' through your head is right, don't fret, it ain't something what ever had a name." He was only ever a cannibal out of necessity. Plenty of radroaches and mole rats about that it weren't, currently, necessary.

[okiedokies]

Her lashes fluttered as he snatched the coat away from her as though that would keep her from thinking anything or questioning him about why he had cared. But his response seemed logical enough, if a bit silly considering she was sure she wouldn’t have been loud enough to attract anything over the sound of the rain.

Maybe he was right though and she should leave it at that but she still offered a small smile until his hand thrusted out so he could hand her a skewer. She blinked, feeling a knee jerk response to say no but then her stomach clenched with a familiar hunger pain. Pressing her lips together, she considered him before shrugging her shoulders and taking the skewer. “Okie dokie.”

She pulled a piece of meat off and popped it into her mouth to start chewing as she looked at the door. “Any idea where we’re heading?”

[assjerky]

Truth be known the Ghoul wasn't sure what mole rat chunks truly tasted like, his own senses so dull that at best he could taste a hint of the char. Texture wise it was a bit stringy. But protein and fat was protein and fat, couldn't be picky much out here in the Wasteland.

Wherever Dogmeat tracked Young Henry to was where they were headed, but he imagined that wasn't what she was asking. "Had to wager a guess? Direction we're headed? Up what's left of the ol' highway deeper into the Mojave?" He fussed the collar of his coat into place and exhaled a sigh, finally feeling like himself, all pieces of his armor in place. "Reckon we're bound for New Vegas."

[okiedokies]

The meat was interesting and the taste was a bit odd but it wasn’t as bad as she expected it to be. It was good enough that she could chew it down and it could sustain her for a little while longer than whatever the Vault had packed for her when they had decided to banish her.

Her brows lifted when he mentioned Vegas because she knew a little about it from the history she taught but he had said New Vegas. So she looked intrigued as she tilted her head to the side, studying him. “What’s it like there?”

[assjerky]

Same shithole has everywhere else, the Ghoul was tempted to say, but that weren't entirely true. Probably true for her, coming from her perfect shiny vault world. Mostly true for him, remembering the way the world used to be. He hummed thoughtfully, shifted and bent a leg to prop an arm on his knee. "That fancy vault dweller education include geography? Heard of Las Vegas, Nevada?" He waited for her assent before he continued. "S'mostly intact. An' the same. Booze, whores, and roulette tables. Just as full of the same bullshit as the rest of the world, 'course. Factions. Tribes. Always fightin' for control and territory that don't mean shit, end of the day."

[okiedokies]

“I know about stuff from before the bombs were dropped but nothing after,” she confessed to him much as she had to Maximus. Then she smiled brightly at him. “So I have heard about Las Vegas.”

He had warned her before that nothing stayed clean up here, so she could imagine that this New Vegas was probably like everything else she had seen so far but she was still interested. Humming, she tilted her head to the side after swallowing another chunk of meat. “Why do you think my Dad would go there?”

[assjerky]

"Well that's the question, ain't it sweetie?" He had theories, but nothing solid. Apparently young Henry rose high enough in the Vault-Tec ranks that he'd earned himself a nice little freezer to wait out the end of the world in. Meant he knew things. Meant he was headed towards something, or someone, of importance and value. "What do you think, Vaultie? Think your Daddy's juat got a mighty need for some blackjack and hookers after all that nice and sanitized vault living?"

[okiedokies]

Her brows pulled together as he called her 'sweetie' again which wasn't the first time and she wondered why he was making that a habit. Not that it mattered as much as wondering what her father was up to but the problem was that she didn't know. She had no idea who he was, after all.

"I don't know, darling," she answered with a shake of her head, her gaze drifting down as she continued to think as though she could figure the problem out. "But I'm guessing he figures there is someone there who can help him."

[assjerky]

The pet name sounded so damn earnest when she said it that the Ghoul couldn't help but laugh, hard enough that he felt an uncomfortable tickle in his chest and nearly coughed. Thankfully he swallowed it down, and just made a note to take a hit off his inhaler later, preferably when she wasn't paying much attention. Last thing he needed was her giving him those soft little concerned eyes.

"Aw, bluebell, you gettin' all sweet on me," he drawled with a quick flash of a grin that would've made a pretty girl sigh way back when he'd been smooth and handsome and famous. Now it just looked, well. Ghoulish. "That's cute." He got to his feet with a soft grunt kf effort and stretched a bit, then started picking up their camp. "Last I heard of New Vegas and the Mojave, there was a squabble for control of the Hoover Dam, 'twixt the NCR and some fucked up band of slavers and psychos thought they was resurrecting old Rome. Dunno how it turned out. In favor of the NCR, I had to guess. Reckon we'll find out."

[okiedokies]

While she blinked at the sudden laughter, she also couldn’t help the small but pleased smile that graced her lips at getting such a reaction out of him. That had to be a good sign, didn’t it? It meant they were getting along, a fact that was further cemented by the fact he had covered her with a jacket when he thought she was cold during being asleep. Getting along meant possibly being friends and then maybe he would be less likely to use her as bait. Fingers crossed.

Then he was declaring she was sweet on him which made her blink before she replied. “Well, you started it. So that must mean you’re sweet on me.”

Now that she was done the skewer, she rose to her feet quickly to help him. Never let it be said that she wasn’t helpful! She skirted around the dog, stepping closer to the Ghoul without thinking about it as she helped him to put out the fire. At one point, her arm brushed his as she murmured a polite ‘excuse me’ while she looked around to make sure they had everything. Then she grabbed her pack to pull it on, looking at him again. “Why would they squabble over the Hoover Dam?”

[assjerky]

The Ghoul considered remarking that he bet she'd taste real sweet, but decided it was better to quit while he was ahead.

He scooped up his saddlebag and checked the pocket real quick for reassurance that, yes, his box of vials was still there, then clicked his tongue at Dogmeat so she'd trot into step beside them. "Why you think, sweetheart?" He drawled as he ambled out of the shed, casually assessing the immediate vicinity just to make sure nothin' and nobody were layin' in wait. "Control of the territory. That there dam is the power source of the Mojave. Control the Hoover, control the Wasteland."

[okiedokies]

She would have to tell him that she was told she tasted sweet but then that would bring up things they probably shouldn't talk about even though she had no issue talking about sex.

Shifting her pack to her back, she made sure it was secure and that she had everything before she set after him. Blinking a bit when they stepped out of the shack, she briefly shielded her eyes against the rising sun until her sight had adjusted. Dropping her hand to the side, she nodded. "I suppose it makes sense when you put it that way."

"Who is the NRC?" She asked, falling in step beside him on the other side of where Dogmeat was walking.

[assjerky]

Hard to say if he'd mean it more in a sexual or cannibalistic sense. (Mostly the first, maybe just a touch of the second)

The Ghoul didn't have the patience to walk her through 200 years of history--nor did he think it entirely necessary. "Well sweetheart, that'd be the folks your daddy dropped a big ass bomb on," he drawled, glancing over his shoulder at her. "Shady Sands? That was the first capital city of the New California Republic." He tucked his tongue against his cheek, whistled at Dogmeat as she started to follow a scent trail to bring her back to their sides. "Makes you wonder why he'd be marching towards their territory, don't it? Makes you wonder what he knows and we don't."

[okiedokies]

Maybe it was best not to think about it. (But it might be existing in the back of her head somewhere.)

Even though she hadn't been the one to drop the bomb, she still felt a flicker of guilt over what her father had done and it was evident on her face. She quickly put it aside in favor of keeping going, though, using it as fuel to inspire and push her forward instead of wallowing or breaking down. She wasn't sure she could ever make up for what he had done but she wasn't going to just let it go either!

"I'm beginning to realize that he knows a lot of things we don't but at least I'm not blind to the kind of person he is now," she told him, lifting her chin somewhat defiantly.

[assjerky]

The Ghoul watched her quietly for a moment, watched all the tiny emotions play across her face--knowing too damn well exactly what was going on behind every furrowed brow and miniscule wince. Hell of a thing to cope with, finding out the person you loved was a monster, willing to let the world burn, and weren't many people who understood it. What a shitty little club they belonged to together.

"And what's his justice look like to you, Vaultie," he asked bluntly, casually fishing his inhaler out of his saddle bag. "We catch up with him, assuming a Deathclaw don't catch him first--what's the plan?"

[okiedokies]

It was the worst feeling, the kind that shook her right to the core and had her questioning everything she knew. Especially when it came to what he had done to her mother and what had happened to the woman. That kind of pain wasn’t one that she thought she could easily push away but she was trying for the sake of moving on.

Then he asked what she would do if she faced her father again and she faltered. She had been tempted to shoot him but could she?

“I will try to reason with him. Maybe I can convince him to…atone for his crimes,” she replied slowly, sounding a bit unsure of what she was saying. But everything she had been taught and raised to believe in told her that was what she should do. Then she blinked up at him, seeming to register something else he had said and looking a bit horrified. “What is a deathclaw?”

[assjerky]

The Ghoul heaved a sigh, but before he could bite off a cutting remark he took a hit off of his inhaler. Let the drugs sink into his lungs and rush to his head, keeping his mind clear for another undetermined stretch of time. He had a feeling her question was an attempt to shift the subject, but he wasn't letting it shift. "Atone to who, sweetheart? Vault-Tec? He is fuckin' Vault-Tec. The NCR? You saw what they've turned into at the Griffith Observatory. Ain't hardly better than Raiders from the looks of things. Your buddy in the Brotherhood? They don't give a shit 'bout nothin' but their metal suits and whatever scraps of shiny they can dig up and keep for themselves."

It was a hard truth, but she needed to fuckin' learn it. Still, his tone did soften a bit after a brief pause. "All's I'm saying, darlin', is the only person what deserves to hold him accountable, is you. Time comes, whatever happens, it's gon' be in your hands."

[okiedokies]

The truth was that she didn't know who her father should atone to and it seemed that the Ghoul had the same thoughts, giving voice to her doubts as she looked at him with a quietly haunted gaze. Then she couldn't look at him anymore as her lashes flickered and her gaze drifted away, focusing on the endless stretch of desert and hell before them.

It seemed she was learning all kinds of hard truths and it settled in her soul like cold shards of glass. But maybe he was right, maybe it was to her that her father would have to atone to. Her and her brother.

"I...we have to find him first," she stated slowly, a small part of her hoping that it wouldn't come to that but she had a feeling she wouldn't be so lucky.

[assjerky]

The Ghoul made a low sound, little more than a grunt of acknowledgement as he tucked his inhaler away. "Yeah, that we do," he agreed casually. "And that's gon' take time. Reckon plenty of time to figure all that out."

Was it though? He'd had 200 years, and he still didn't know what he'd do or say to Barb. He'd played the scenario in his head many times, with many different outcomes, depending on his mood. Still couldn't stick to anything for certain. Glass houses and stones and all that, so he let the subject drop there.

"As for the deathclaws, well. What pops in your head when you hear a word like 'deathclaw' s'likely close to the truth. Ain't something we need to mess with."

[okiedokies]

"You don't sound so sure," she said softly, seeming to pick up on some of his internal struggles and questions as she watched him while he tucked his inhaler away. She could almost feel bad for his dependency on the meds inside the inhaler, guessing they were the ones that she had left him after escaping the organ harvester.

Then she sighed because he wasn't telling her what a Deathclaw was and she figured that said a lot. "I'm guessing the chance of them being soft and cuddly is very low."

"Are they big? Small? What sort of animal do they look like? Do they even look like an animal?" She started to rattle off the questions after giving him only a minute of silence. Clearly, she was picturing all sorts of things at the moment and couldn't settle on an answer until he gave her more to go on.

[assjerky]

The remark got no response beyond a quick side-glance and a twitch of the ridge where an eyebrow used to be. It wasn't gonna be that easy to pry the bits of his innermost thoughts and feelings out of him. "Big enough to rip a fella in half. Reptilian. Bipedal. Horns and big ass teeth and claws. They don't hunt folk, as a rule. We stay out of their way and they'll stay out of ours. S'true of most things in the Wasteland. Just ain't always possible."

[okiedokies]

Maybe it wouldn't be that easy right away but she was going to work on it over the time they spent together. Mostly because she wanted to know more about him and what drove him to make the choices that he did like his idea of the golden rule. She was beginning to realize that she had to be subtle about it though, or at least as subtle as she could be.

"And you know how to stay out of their way?" She looked at him somewhat hopefully, her eyes wide as he decided that she didn't want to run into a Deathclaw whatsoever.

[assjerky]

"Still alive, ain't I?" He wanted to be annoyed by her constant badgering, but she brought up a decent enough point, now that her chattering forced him to think about it. "Course I ain't been out this way in a while. Used to be, you stay the hell away from I15 and follow what's left of the 95 to New Vegas, you avoid the worst of the critters. That was 'fore Shady Sands got turned into a crater and the NCR kept the highway clear. Ain't sure the state of things now. Oughta be able to get the lay of the land in Goodsprings."

[okiedokies]

"And Goodsprings is a town? I can get new clothes there?" Lucy asked, feeling a bit strange about the idea of not wearing her vault suit anymore but she needed not to stand out so much. Glancing down at herself, she gave a thoughtful frown as she tried to imagine wearing something else.

She licked her lips as she glanced over at him again, tilting her head slightly. "How can we get the clothes? I don't have any of the currency used up here."