[color=9e005d]CORRINE DOOLAK[/color] - Far Harbor

"Sounds like a great idea," Steve replied.  "I'm ready to go when you are."

Corrine had never felt in such a hurry to take off from the Plank.  Steve had wedged himself between her and the door, holding it open for her.  She hardly acknowledged it in her haste to get away from the stares and chortles behind her.

The outside air hit her like a salty and refreshing, cool caress.  [i]Maybe I did hit the whiskey a bit too hard, but I didn't exactly expect to be on a date.[/i]  

Steve drew up beside her. "Downside of small towns", he said as he jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the bar behind him, "folks like to get into everyone else's business." He shrugged. "Just like my old home in Rivet City." 

"Yeah.  Not much a person can hide in this place," she shrugged back, though she appreciated his sympathetic tone.

"Anyhow, you mentioned something called "The Hull", what's that?" 

"This way," she smiled, heading towards the gate, but instead, ducking into the old souvenir shop and going up the stairs and out the second floor door to the upper gangway of the Hull.  She chose the southernmost spot, just past the gate, but far enough and quiet enough from the main town.  "The Hull is the wall with the main gate that protects the town from the rest of the island, but it's also the best spot in town to get a quiet moment and a...view."  

Corrine gestured southwest.  The sun was starting to contemplate setting on the day, filtering through thinner patches of the fog and looking hauntingly beautiful.  The rocky cliffs of the northeastern edge of the island were highlighted and the sound of the water breaking on the shore was just slightly louder than the din of the town behind them.  "I'm really not a tour guide," she explained.  "You seemed to be askin' about the island and I thought I should just...show it to you."

She sighed, happily.  "I ain't been anywhere else, I'm sure you figured that out.  I don't know what the mainland looks like, let alone any of the places you've talked about, like where you're from.  But the [i]island[/i]...it's a part of me, as I'm a part of it.  I don't know any other life than to live every day lookin' at that."  She gestured at the nearby ruins of gift shops and bait and tackle stores.  The sunlight, combined with the fog, blanketed the sight in a beautiful mist that almost looked serene.  A breeze picked up once more.  Instinctively, she pulled her coat tighter around her body, taking a moment to just enjoy the relative peace and pleasant company.

"So, that's why I ain't takin' off, even if it seems like the wrong choice.  I don't want to live anywhere else."  Corrine leaned forward and looked out into the fog. "If you've got some ideas on how we can defend it, or die trying, then I'll gladly hear 'em.  But..." she pat the rail next to her, encouraging him to come closer, "maybe later?"