Shevaults - Blog Posts

Eyebrows raise in one glimpse at the way the canine moves steadily forward in front of the now duo, quickly falling back into a blank slate as the weight of her armor shifts forward too. Diamond City: the Great Green Jewel as the nervous fucker on her pip boy proclaims, was where all outsiders seemed to shun away from, which usually meant that was the first place she needed to head towards.

"That's how things are everywhere. A two hour trip turns into two days in this -----" Gloved hands gesture towards the irradiated world around them. Six had seen it in every form; dust winds that covered flatlands for miles, virally infected creatures that crawl (she can't make out every animal that seemed to be combined with the beast), mountains hiding uranium secrets, people pretending to aid the unsuspecting while planning to eat them...

"There ain't nowhere without someone wanting to put your head on the end of a pole." And with lack of better words, she lets out a scoff.

""I'm from California. Way out west. I got bored and now I'm here." Two truths and a lie, though the Courier isn't ready to reveal all her cards yet. She knows the best lies are told with a sprinkle of truth. "Some folks were worried about people up and disappearing. Have you heard anything about that?"

nora relaxes visibly, comforted by the way the other treats dogmeat. would it be stupid to base her feelings on whether a person is good or bad based on how they treat her dog? in all honesty, nora's not so sure. she's learned by now that even the friendliest face could turn out to be a threat, but sometimes you have to take a leap of faith.

" alright, " she says, her voice firm but not unkind, " you can follow, but let's keep it side by side. " nora's not going to let anyone she doesn't know have her back, not until she can get a better read on this person. her armor, her stance, the way she carries herself ... there's a story there, one that nora is curious to unravel.

dogmeat seems to sense the change in the air as nora tilts her head in the direction of diamond city. always a few paces ahead of her, he begins to lead the way, sniffing the ground now and again as he does so. dogmeat's been with her ever since the first day she left the vault; he never leaves her side.

" diamond city's not far, " nora explains, adjusting her grip on her weapon as she starts walking. it's a relaxed stance, but she's still ready if anything were to happen. setting a steady pace, nora continues, " it's the things that jump out at you along the way that tend to make it a longer journey. "

there's a brief pause as nora turns to look at the courier, and then— " you're not from the commonwealth, are you? "

"Dogmeat. Hm." A chuckle falls from chapped lips, the ends of them tugging into a smile. The other can't see this peace offering, but the Courier hopes she can sense it. The grip on her rifle eases as she looks at the canine companion. "As darlin' as that is, you don't look like anybody's snack, buddy."

With a shift of her weight, her grip completely falters. She's quick enough to fight the consequences if this action turns out to be a mistake. Her posture remains stiff, it always is, as a Courier should be, but her guard is loosened down. "Diamond City sounds good. You should let me follow behind. Dogmeat reminds me of someone back home, and that means we're in good hands."

nora keeps her weapon drawn, planning on being ready if this person were to suddenly decide to make her their enemy. she isn't about to let her guard down, no matter whether they just fought together or not.

" dogmeat, " she answers, jutting her chin towards the canine by her side. dogmeat's attention quickly returns to nora at the mention of his name, a curious whine slipping from him as he tilts his head. " i'm nora. "

she studies the other, noting the way they hold themselves—confident, maybe, but cautious. that's fair; nora could respect that. isn't she doing the same right now? out here, you have to be ready for anything. the wasteland doesn't favor the unprepared.

" you headed anywhere in particular? " nora asks, scanning the other's attire. their armor is unfamiliar yet notable; maybe they have a group nearby that might be bad business, maybe they're new here, or maybe nora simply hasn't unlocked this person's story yet. there's still plenty she's learning about the new commonwealth she woke up in. " i'm headed to diamond city, " nora explains, the offer of companionship unspoken between them yet still there. " you should know: it's not safe to be out here alone. "

Six has been traveling for months on end after she sets sight on the East. Yes Man's updated system caught intel of a new kind of problem beginning to spread quicker than radiation poisoning; robotic creations of some sort making real people disappear, only to play pretend in their place. The Institute, some fella in Kansas shared, was getting closer everyday. As a result, every incident allowed the blame to be passed onto an invisible boogeyman, and in true Six fashion, the Courier took it upon herself to get answers, even if she didn't need to be asking questions in the first place.

This place is a patriot's wet dream, she thinks. A crumbling cesspool of something that once was. One nation under god, something something something, liberty and justice. Six could scoff to herself at the thought as there is no such thing to be found in the wastes anymore, if ever a thing existed at all.

Perhaps she's looking for it in the wrong places. With a pistol tucked into her belt and a rifle in her hands, aimed and at the ready, she takes steady shots at the green mutants that never seem to go down without a fight. Boone always insisted she was too impulsive, you can never sit still long enough, and that it was going to be the death of her. But Six needs the rush like a junkie needs Jet.

Sometime amid the ambush, a dog rushes to her aid, and it's not until the last of the group lets out an unsettling moan with a thud and a voice calls out that she realizes the dog wasn't helping her at all.

"I'm alright. Thanks." A sense of relief washes over the Courier at the sight of someone seemingly unrough around the edges, but she's no fool, which is why she doesn't bother to remove her Ranger mask... yet. "I'm Natasha." Not Six. Not Courier. Those means nothing to anyone here and nothing now. "Who's the dog?"

"And you, of course?"

engaging in combat in the commons is a given. with supermutants, raiders and feral ghouls lurking around any given corner, it’s best to come prepared—and nora always does. when she hears gunfire, she’s drawn to it; she expects some raiders fighting supermutants or perhaps supermutants fighting raiders, and she already plans to let the supermutants take them out before she fires on the raiders to be smart and save ammo. what she doesn’t expect, however, is a singular person fighting supermutants themselves. typically, the only humans she ever meets out here are bad news, and more often than not in multiples… but nora won't know that about this person until she gets the chance to speak to them. dogmeat springs into action, charging at the mutants in a dance they’ve repeated time and time again. nora lifts her rifle, aims down the scope, shoots one in the head. the next is partially covered by scrap from a mangled building, but dogmeat holds it in place; she fires at its thick skin repeatedly until it crumples to the floor with a hearty roar of defeat. she doesn't need to worry about the last two, however, not when the person in the armor handles it themselves.

when all grows quiet, nora raises a hand, rifle still clutched in the other. " you okay? " she calls uneasily across the space between them, keeping her distance for now. you can never be too careful out here. meanwhile, dogmeat has returned to her side, panting, tongue out as he looks between the two. nora lowers her hand to pet dogmeat's head. " i've got stimpaks if you need them, " she offers, glancing over the other to assess any damage. it's hard to tell with all that armor. " what's your name? " / @couri6r