[center][h3][color=tan]Courier 6[/color] and [color=orange]Ratchet[/color][/h3]
[b]Level 4[/b] - (31/40) EXP (+2), [b]Level 4[/b] - (1/40)
[b]Location:[/b] Castle Interior
[b]Word Count:[/b] 998
Ratchet Level Up!
[b]Second Wind[/b] - While suffering heavy, life-threatening injuries that should result in death, Ratchet gets a few precious extra moments to act. If he's able to kill one enemy before succumbing to death, he receives a sudden healing surge, putting him back into fighting shape in a flash! A benefit from having the spirit of Zer0.[/center]

Ratchet eagerly followed the princess into the kitchen, where a number of those mushroom headed people were hard at work, along with a fairly normal looking human woman. To his surprise, the princess herself began getting in on the hard work of preparing a feast. It kind of blew his mind to see royalty getting their hands dirty, but it was clear this was far from the first time Peach had taken the time to prepare a meal herself. She was a natural in the kitchen. Ratchet appreciated the sentiment, but couldn’t help feeling just a bit uncomfortable, so he nervously scratched the back of his head. Tora got in on the action too, helping out on Peach’s orders after getting a nice little snack of some sort of fruit. The lombax was about to speak up when Mario and Geno entered the kitchen, stealing away the princess’s attention. It seemed like she knew them, and was very close to Mario at the least.

The three exchanged some words, then Peach was back to giving attention to Tora, leaving Ratchet to feel like an extra wheel. He tried to interject a couple times, but didn’t find a good point to say anything. Not that he had all that much to say in the situation. With a shrug, he finally added in, [color=orange]”I can help too. I’m better with machines than food, but I guess that’s just the sort of sacrifice a hero is expended to make.”[/color] Whatever task he was assigned, either by Princess Peach or by Cooking Mama, he was happy to oblige.

[hr]

Back in the throne room, the Courier walked side by side with Din. The red haired dancer didn’t seem to be heading toward the kitchen or any kind of dining hall, but rather toward the castle garden. The Courier guessed that she was rather in a bit of a hurry then? He did say it could wait until after they ate, but then again food probably wouldn’t be ready for a few minutes. Yeah, her way was probably for the best. At least if he had something to do he could take his mind off the painful pounding in his head. [i]Thud. Thud. Thud.[/i] Ah, god dammit all to Hell. 

That’s when Din caught him completely off guard, asking for his name before offering her own. Oh, that’s right, he had never introduced himself when they woke up back on that hill, did he? She had already told her name back at the beginning though, so her memory was faulty. At least, that’s the way he saw things. 

[color=tan]”My name is unimportant,”[/color] he said rather plainly. He paused a moment to pick up his rawhide hat that had come off during the fight against that evil Bowser. [color=tan]”I’m just a courier. I travel places, delivering packages, mail, anything really. Just a lonesome drifter who leaves town as soon as he finds it.”[/color]

He listened to her speak rather melancholically about their fallen comrades. She didn’t talk like someone who knew conflict, pain, or death. It was… Puzzling. To he who lived a life full of strife, pain, and killing, it was a difficult concept to understand. He could never relate to this woman, no matter how hard he wanted to. [color=tan]”In the Mojave, you have breakfast with your best friend, and by lunch you’re mourning them,”[/color] he spoke matter of factly. [color=tan]”My world is different from this hodgepodge mishmash, but no less dangerous. Maybe moreso. Living day to day is a struggle for most folk. If the wildlife isn’t eating you, the raiders are killing you for your stuff. If you fight off the raiders, you still have to deal with the desert sun and radiation poisoning. Death is just a fact. So I… Can’t be affected by this the same way as you.”[/color]

He let that hang in the air for a second before continuing. [color=tan]”Course, we still fight like hell. To get by, to survive, to live for a better tomorrow. Others die so we can carry the torch. It’s the same here, with Zer0 and Gaige. Their spirits still live on, pushing us to succeed.”[/color] To emphasize, he lifted up the Revolution, the machine gun Gaige’s spirit had become. [color=tan]”Zer0 the assassin. Gaige, the mechromancer. They called themselves Vault Hunters. True badasses. They won’t let death stop them, and neither will I. I already crawled back from Hell once.”[/color]

Suddenly they found themselves in the garden. The flora of this place was so lush and green, like back in Vault 22. That place had more greenery than he’d even thought could exist in the world. Of course, just like the rest of the wasteland, it was a mere mirage of peace of prosperity, ready to kill at the drop of a pin. But this, this place felt entirely different. Peaceful. The fauna was unusual, green dinosaur like creatures, more of those rabbit like things that resembled Mario and the princess, a couple creatures made of some sort of fabric, and all manner of bizarre, strange mutant like critters. Nothing seemed to be aggressive or inherently bad though, so the Courier paid them all no mind, instead opting to answer Din’s final question.

[color=tan]”Uh… Samples? Um…”[/color] Courier 6 rooted around in his bag for some trace of what he was looking for. Damn, he had used up all his supplies to make more alcohol and chems before. If he had anything, it’d only be the dregs. After some thorough rummaging, the Courier was able to produce only small shavings of the plants he was after: a bit of root bristle from a xander root, a single petal from a broc flower, just a smidge of fungus, the peel of a yucca banana, and a cactus flower. [color=tan]”I hope these are good enough?”[/color]