A Visitor

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The door opens from Milliways onto the startlingly sun-lit ruins of what was once a decent small-town home. What's left is burnt or decayed wood, concrete rubble, bits of unidentifiable metal, all of it worn by centuries of neglect. Between the rotted beams that still somehow stand upright it's easy enough to see other such ruins, and a little ways off the brick-and-mortar remains of a much larger building.

"Welcome to Springvale," Ellen says, her voice muffled by the filters on her helmet. "We're a ways outside Megaton. I'd have brought you in through my front door, but between Stockholm the gate sniper and Deputy Weld, someone would've realized you never passed through the front gates, so this seemed like the safest option."

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I've been wearing armor in one form or another pretty much every single day since I got out of the Vault," Ellen says. "I'm used to it by now. There's people who get by with just leather, but- really, when it comes down to it I feel better with cerasteel or metal between me and the rest of the world."

She eyes Voodoo's attire and adds, "You'll probably find that you can move more quietly in that than you'd expect. It's designed to minimize and absorb the normal sounds of power armor in motion so that the wearer doesn't go bugnuts from all the clattering. Without a power suit over it, it just quiets the wearer's movements."

[boston_bruiser]

"That so?"

Voodoo jumps up and down, then jogs in place a bit.

Apparently it is so.

"Huh. Doesn't look like much, but it delivers."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It doesn't nearly live up to my old stealth suit," Ellen adds, expression turning a little sour. "But nothing does. They don't make them like that any-"

Her sentence is cut off by a slow, measured knock at the house's front door, and an oddly strained-sounding voice from the other side calling, "Ellen?"

"Oh- oh, jeez, you know, I completely forgot- Fawkes," Ellen answers. "I'll be right there, hang on-"

She shakes her head at her own forgetfulness before quickly saying, "There's one more person you need to meet before tomorrow, Voodoo. Fawkes is a friend of mine who happens to be a supermutant. He'll be coming with us when we head out in the morning. I don't think they have mutants in the Commonwealth so you can probably get away with being surprised."

[boston_bruiser]

"Wait, a supermutant? As in one of those freaky green guys who couldn't string together a coherent sentence if their life depended on it and eat humans? One of those?"

His voice reeks of how the hell did you pull that one off?

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He's one of the two I've ever met who were sane and intelligent," Ellen says. "The other mutants had locked him up for being a freak. When I let him out of his cell he helped me find the last parts we needed to get Dad's purifier working, and he wound up tracking me down after I got captured by the Enclave and helping me escape."

[boston_bruiser]

"Oh. Sounds like a decent guy, then."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He saved my life at the water purifier. If he hadn't run into the control room I'd have died of radiation poisoning in about thirty more seconds," Ellen says. "He's all right."

She'll wait for a response before heading over to the door, just in case there's anything left to answer; otherwise she's going to open it up and let eight or nine feet of supermutant clad in the remains of a Vault 87 jumpsuit through.

[boston_bruiser]

We sincerely regret the fact that we don't have an adequate O_O userpic for Voodoo, but this will suffice for the time being.

Voodoo's trying not to stare, but again, it's really, really hard.

"...hey," he finally manages.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Good evening," rumbles Fawkes, because really, there aren't a whole lot of other words to describe his voice. "I trust I haven't interrupted anything."

"It's all right, Fawkes," Ellen says. "This is my friend Voodoo. He's going to be coming with us when we head out with the Brotherhood."

"Ah, I see," Fawkes says. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Voodoo. My- apologies- for having startled you."

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo shrugs. "Ellen gave me a heads-up, so it wasn't that bad. I'm from the Commonwealth - we don't see too many of you guys up there."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Fawkes nods. "I don't intend to be here long," he says. The reason why is probably fairly obvious; other than standing somewhere on the staircase, the mutant doesn't have a lot of places in the house where he can avoid banging his head on a ceiling. "I had only wanted to report that the Brahmin have all been gathered in for the night. I'll be staying with them this evening, if you don't mind."

"Fawkes, you don't need to-"

The mutant's face contorts. It may take a moment to realize that he's smiling. "I spent a very long time confined among the others of my kind," he says. "Staying outdoors, and seeing the stars in the night sky, is hardly what I would call a hardship."

Ellen's expression is dubious, but she nods. "If you say so," she says. "I'll bring some dinner out to you in a bit, if you're hungry."

"I wouldn't say no."

[boston_bruiser]

"I've got some canned chicken noodle and a spare can opener, if that's up your alley," Voodoo interjects. It's not much, but the guy's gotta eat something, right?

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

That gets an actively surprised look, and then a pleased tone creeps into the mutant's voice. "I would appreciate that very much. Thank you, my friend."

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo digs around in his pack for a bit, eventually coming up with a can and a can opener, both of which he holds out for Fawkes. "No problem."

He'd go with the old "a friend of Ellen's is a friend of mine," but that'd be just trite.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Fawkes accepts both, the can opener looking almost like a child's toy in his massive hand. A few moments later, the can opened, he hands the device back. "I'll give you the can once I'm done," he promises. "In the meantime, I'll be eating outside, where I can watch over the cattle. I don't think the chairs here will take my weight."

[boston_bruiser]

Voodoo takes the can opener.

"Take care of yourself, Fawkes."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That I will," says the mutant, and stumps out.

Ellen moves to close the door behind him, and turns back to Voodoo. "Just so you know," she says, "he'll be coming with us tomorrow, and he uses a Gatling laser. He has trouble working the trigger on anything smaller."

[boston_bruiser]

"A Gatling laser?" Voodoo shrugs. "Fine by me, so long as he points it at the right people."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"He's good about that," Ellen says. "Okay, then. Is there anything else? Wadsworth can make dinner, or else there's a stove through that door and to the right if you wanted to use it."

[boston_bruiser]

"Nah, I think I'll crash upstairs for a bit," Voodoo says. "Thanks for the suit."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"You're welcome," says Ellen. "Sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."