SkrtWithAWeapon

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN - Sandy Coves Inn -- late afternoon to early evening

Sara replied in a reassuring tone. “We'll be alright Celeste. As long as I'm staying here I'll keep an eye out for you…it's the least I can do after all.”

Celeste nodded wordlessly. Suddenly, Brandy burst in, slamming the door behind her causing some glass jars in her basket to rattle. “Not again, twice in one day?” She appeared calmer when she saw Sara. “Hi Sara, Celeste you look great. I sure hope this stuff stops outside.”

Celeste tucked some curls behind her ear and smiled bashfully. "Do you think so? Thanks, Brandy! I've got a date tonight," she giggled.

She sat her picnic basket on the counter, “Oh Celeste, thank you for the wheelchairs. I fixed two up and Shelby's girlfriend Eliza was allowed to leave the clinic because she didn't have to walk on her injured leg.”

"Gosh, Brandy, you're so handy. Makes me a little jealous. I did make these scones, though. You should help yourself."

Steve bumbled past and made some comment to Sara about shoes, then addressed her as 'madam'. “Madam, Rook is currently eliminating some raider scouts we spotted from the roof; please do not worry about the noises....They will be dead pretty quickly.”

“How about I shove one of these feet up your ass and then you can talk to me about the rules of combat!?” she replied. Steve was already out the door, and didn't hear.

Celeste smiled at Sara. "That's a funny idea. How would you ever get a foot up a butt?"

Celeste peered into Brandy's picnic basket. "I'm gonna be nosy and ask, what'cha got in there?"

A final, particularly loud and close sounding gunshot rang out. Celeste gripped the edge of the counter and blinked, suddenly paralyzed in fear. "Oh my god, oh my god! I thought this town was going to be safe!" she squeaked.

"Good heavens, what seems to be --" Archie's electronic voice came from behind Celeste.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed, nearly jumping out of her skin.

"Manager Celeste! Are you in distress? Your skin is pale and clammy."

"You scared the daylights out of me," she panted in response, clutching her chest.

"My apologies, Manager. What seems to be the trouble?"

"Gunshots, outside. Where have you been?"

"Re-organizing the basement. No matter, though. Shall I investigate, as before?"

Celeste looked between Brandy and Sara. "I...I don't know." She gazed, wide-eyed and scared, at Sara. "Do you think we're in danger?"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Diner -- evening

"Oh...uh..water, please. Just water. Make that purified water if you have it," Arthur said with a nervous smile.

Water? Really? -- oh, wait. He doesn't have any money... Frieda raised a finger to call the waitress back but she'd already turned, with quite a bit of attitude no less, and walked off.

He cleared his throat. Frieda looked back at him, forgetting the waitress for a moment. "They are quite fascinating you know," He began cheerfully. He then lowered his voice, leaned in, and whispered the next few words more softly, "...wastelanders that is..." With a nod, he sat back up and continued talking normally, "You can live among them for months and come to the likely conclusion that they're a very simple people, and yet....they still find ways to surprise you. Take this diner for instance, I would never have imagined that out here there would be such a thing as an old-world style diner. Serving, umm...delicious food. Well, serving food anyway." He chuckled to himself and looked around.

Frieda softened. Enlightened perspective was precisely what she needed, then. "You don't disappoint, Arthur. Spoken like a true man of science." She took another sip of her beer. "...that was meant as a compliment..."

He didn't seem offended. "What about you? What do you think?"

"Me?" The truth, or what will keep me from being rushed out of town? "I suppose you could say I'm not so...optimistic." Frieda rested her bottle on the bar surface and turned it around in her hand. "Mind you, I was thinking about their," she paused to swallow a lump in her throat, "capability, myself, earlier when Ace came over to talk to us after the gunshots. Though mainly to the tune of, how do so many manage to survive, and keep surviving?"

She took another swig of her beer. "Though perhaps what you've said has quite a bit of merit. I hadn't thought of it that way, before. They figured out how to feed themselves, and each other, and turn it into some kind of trade based economy no less. Maybe there's some hope, at least, for some of them."

The waitress came back with Arthur's water and put it in front of him.

"Wait!" Frieda called before the annoyed looking woman could disappear. "My friend here needs a beer, too.
Something...sophisticated," she flashed a quick wink at Arthur before looking back to the waitress. "How about one of those stouts?"

"Those what?" the waitress all but groaned.

"Stout. It's a kind of beer, in this bar you work at?" Frieda couldn't contain her snippy tone.

"You make it sound like I should care."

"Ess, tee, oh --"

"Shut up, grandma," the waitress growled, placing a bottle of the dark beer onto the counter in front of Arthur.

"Oh, that goes on Barney's tab, too."

Barney wagged his middle finger at Frieda, who mimed a kiss at him. She twisted the cap off Arthur's beer, then held out her own. "Cheers."

"So, I'm interested to know, how did a sealed vault have so many scientific, or medical resources? Most, if not all, of them were set up to study certain phenomena of human behaviour, but our records allegedly showed that many of them imploded from the inside by one factor or another. That, or they opened to the world, and who knows what happened to those folks after that." She paused, then flashed a wide, genuine smile. "Sorry, I'm sure you're more than aware of the internal politics of a Vault, being from one, and all. But anyways, how did your Vault make it? Honest question."

In From The Fog: A Fallout Far Harbor Roleplay

CORRINE DOOLAK - west road - after dark

Well, that ain't right, her last full thought as the spear met a thicker, tougher hide than ever before, just as the angler knocked her into the air and to the ground. There was a loud smack and an explosion of pain through her head. Everything was dark. She thought she heard the sound of her spear clattering down next to her, but couldn't open her eyes, let alone move, to see.

There was a sound of rushing air between her ears. Corrine's head pulsed over and over with a pounding ache. Her body felt heavy and thick, like her joints were sandbags.

"Corrine!", Steve called through the sound of the wind, "Are you alright?"

The sound of the rushing air was overtaken by a ringing, instead. Warmth rushed to her head and cheeks and finally she felt like she could open her eyes. Her breath hitched into the back of her throat in shallow pants. The pain began to radiate from what felt like the middle of her forehead. Corrine pushed herself up onto her hands and knees. "Fuh...fufuffing..." Her lips felt like rubber. She raised her head just enough to be able to look Steve in the face. There was only one of him looking back at her, so she figured that was a good sign. She offered a small smile, then flopped onto her backside back onto the road.

"Just a little...just..." She reached up and touched her forehead, wincing at the tender injured spot, then inspected her fingertips for blood. Sure enough, there was some. "I'll live." Corrine pointed towards both James'. "What about them?" She dropped her volume before posing the next question. "What about James W.? Did he lose the arm?"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Salem -- early evening

“Oh Frieda, if you’re looking for Brandy, after we finished she said she was going over to the inn. Who knows why…” Ace replied as he turned to make his way back to bar, he addressed Rick, “Come on new boy, first drink on the house, if you can handle it.”

Frieda clamped her jaw shut, her irritation about to hit a boiling point a second time, and didn't want to engage. Darkness and fear? Has he looked around, lately? Defenses were one thing, but it's not like the surface was much of a paradise. Clearly she was mistaken that Ace could have a reasonable head on his shoulders.

Moronic muties and their attempt at civilization.

Brandy was a sweetheart but it was a wonder she hadn't been ripped apart by, well, anything out there, yet.

She almost felt homesick. Mostly, she missed her brother. It was amazing how alone a person could feel without their best friend.

Frieda opened and closed her hands. "Oh, okay," she tried to sound grateful to Ace but had no idea how her voice really came out. She turned back to Arthur once more, her demeanour visibly changed. "I'm going home to raid Brandy's fridge, then I'll be at the diner, if you still want that drink." She finished her cigarette, flicked it to the dirt, and quickly took her leave.

Frieda entered Brandy's house and pulled the screen door shut behind her, letting out her aggravation in a growl-sounding sigh. If I had a single iota of a lead as to where you could be, Brian, I'd torch this place and run to you. She rubbed her brow with the back of a hand and swept into the kitchen. She nearly stumbled as she saw Brandy had been cooking. Some kind of crunchy coated animal protein was sitting on a baking sheet on top of the stove.

She cautiously approached the food, leaning over it, and giving the air immediately above it a hearty sniff. It sure smelled...edible. Her stomach growled in response but her mind screamed to avoid it.

It just looked too damn good.

Frieda picked up a drumstick and took a very small and cautious bite. It wasn't long before she was tearing through the entire thing, leaving nothing but a fully cleaned and discarded bone behind. She chewed on the last of the cartilage as she gazed out the window into the sky.

Mutie trash, all of them. Well, except Brandy, but damn if I didn't want to punch the living daylights out of her date back there. Her thoughts immediately jumped to the doc and how he happily treated that wasteland scum without charging them a dime.

She frowned. If she was going to be stuck on the surface for the rest of her life, maybe Arthur had some advice to share on dealing with the wastelanders. She wiped grease off her fingers onto a nearby dishcloth then ascended the stairs to her room. Frieda quickly snatched up her plasma pistol and put it on her belt, where it belonged, brushed her hair out in the bathroom, then left for the diner.

Frieda entered the diner and sat herself at the bar. A girl, no older than eighteen or nineteen let out an annoyed sigh, and tapped a pen on a paper pad. "Whaddaya want, toots? The boss told me to close up."

Frieda blinked. "Do you want my business, or not?"

"Ugh. So what do you want?"

"I'll take a beer, and it's on his tab," Frieda pointed at Barney sitting down the bar.

"It sure as hell is not!" Barney growled in response.

"Take it out of my first pay," Frieda replied, waving him off. "Beer. Now."

The girl rolled her eyes and plunked one onto the bar in front of her.

"Thank you," Frieda purred, smiling to herself as she noticed the waitress didn't even open the bottle for her. She twisted the cap off with little effort and took a sip. She hoped Arthur would take her up on her offer. She needed some intelligent conversation.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Salem Clinic -- late afternoon to evening

"Alright then..." Arthur eventually replied, as though breaking himself from some train of thought, "I could certainly use the help around here and, god forbid, if someone were to ever try and attack this place I'd be well...in a pickle. I don't exactly have any formal weapons training. Although...I don't charge for my services so I'm not sure what I could pay you with. I suppose I could offer to split any food or supplies that the townspeople agree to provide. That is, unless you've worked something out with Mayor Barney perhaps? Either way I..."

"Mayor Barney, i wonder if that's Barney rook, read a report...had read something about him when I was making my way here with minutemen," Rick answered casually, before clamping his mouth shut.

Frieda raised an eyebrow but didn't get a chance to reply. She was starting to feel as though the two men knew each other, somehow, the way they seemed to just talk to each other while she stood there. Shots rang out in the distance. Rick reached for a weapon that wasn't there. Frieda gripped the handle of the scissors.

"Oh my..." Arthur muttered fearfully, "What's happening you think? Are we under attack?"

"It didn't sound to be close by doctor. Perhaps some local revelling and shooting his pistol in the air. I'm sure if it was serious someone may raise alert." As he said that, a woman running from the distance behind the clinic towards where the gunshots had rung out, "Well if it's something that woman has it covered it looks like."

Frieda could hardly believe what she was hearing. Rick's diction was nothing like she'd heard since she left the Enclave, and his seemingly nonchalant attitude towards a potential threat was simply asinine. "You done? Yeah? Good." She was tired of feeling like a third wheel, something that was all too familiar to her, held in her brother's shadow for most her life. She held up a finger to keep anyone from speaking as she listened. "Shots ended, but it doesn't mean the fight's over. If you're smart -- and it sounds like you are -- you'll stay on your guard until there's an all-clear." She was about to make some comment about Rick getting his ass kicked by some bad food mere hours ago, when Ace approached from the direction of the diner.

"Hope you folk are alright, second time today gunshots have rung out. Perhaps tomorrow I'll help that greenskin with that walk he's erecting." Ace said as he addressed the group.

Rick turned to him, "Well a wall would be a good idea. this little town has one area that it's mostly vulnerable at, it would be smart to secure it...Though seeing as the sun it's setting, some lights for the streets would be a good idea... anything could make it's way in here with the darkness...Sorry, where's my manners, my name's Rick, just arrived to this town."

"'Sup," Ace replied as he nodded an gave him a once over, "True about light, however we currently don't have power requirements to make them work. But it is being addressed, and we might soon have power to the homes and streetlights."

"Ace," Frieda greeted him cooly. The sense that she were surrounding by morons was rising. There was no way a self respecting -- or, at least, life-valuing -- officer of the Enclave would hear gunshots and assume "someone else" was handling it, and continue to just shoot the shit about town.

Keep it together, Richter. You need these people, like it or not. She lit up a cigarette, hoping it would somewhat calm her nerves. "Or," she couldn't resist, feeling punchy, "street lights would just make us a nice, bright, blaring target to the rest of the Commonwealth." Frieda blew smoke out the side of her mouth. "Sorry. I'm...not very fond of super mutants, docile or otherwise." She stooped to lean towards Ace. "How do we know he's not building this wall to lock us in until such time his more violent 'friends' appear, and wouldn't you know it, for some reason the gate just opened right up for them, but not for us to escape?"

Frieda sighed. "I know Brandy thinks highly of him, for...some reason...and I owe that girl a lot. She let me move in, and all. She's just so sweet. I don't want her to get hurt."

"Anyways." She turned to Rick. "You didn't answer my earlier question, but my offer still stands. Are you staying somewhere, and do you want me to walk you home? Either way, I'm heading off to get something to eat, see if I can't find Brandy, see what she's been up to, today." Frieda pushed the scissors she was still holding back into Arthur's hands. "I'll be properly armed tomorrow, I promise. If you've got another couple hours in you, come by the diner for a drink."

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

@Kouropalates Celeste IS coming to that date, dangit! She's halfway there with her dress on and all...

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN - Sandy Coves Inn -- late afternoon

Celeste hummed to herself as she swayed from side to side, cleaning the dishes and other items she had used to make the scones. She piled them up as neatly as she could in the second sink so that they would dry, wiped her own hands on the raggedy dish towel, then stepped back into the dining hall, nibbling on one of the scones. She looked around and gave a happy sigh. It was empty, then, but soon enough she imagined a bustling hall, filled with the noise and warmth of guests and visitors alike, enjoying her snacks and hospitality.

Hospitality! Celeste gasped to herself, nearly forgetting her date. She pulled Adam's note from inside her bra, her mouth moving while she re-read the words, finding herself giddy all over again. "I better get ready!" she exclaimed, dashing into her room and flipping through her clothes. She found a light purple dress featuring a white polka dot pattern that she hardly remembered packing form home. She shimmied into it, finding it tighter around her bust than she expected. She rooted through her footwear and found that the only ones in the most presentable condition were a pair of bright blue "All American" sneakers.

She had just finished lacing the second one and returned to the counter, hoping to speak to Archie to let him know her intentions for the evening, when she heard the gunshots. Her body tensed as she listened closer. She couldn't hear anything else. Celeste found herself sinking to the floor to cower behind the counter. Where was Archie?!

There were footfalls on the stairs. Curiosity got the best of her and she rose to see who it was. The tired face of Sara stared back at her from the stairs.

"Celeste, are you okay?!"

Celeste gulped, then offered the smallest of nods. "Yes, I'm just fine. Have you seen Archie? What's going on, outside?" She swiped a hand over her brow. "Do you think a wall will keep this from happening over and over?"

It was as though she finally registered that Sara was carrying a gun. "Wuh-wait, are you going out there?" she peeped.

In From The Fog: A Fallout Far Harbor Roleplay

CORRINE DOOLAK - West Road - darkness falling

The crew trudged over the broken pavement through the fog and the quickly darkening surroundings. Corrine had clutched her jacket around her body as tightly as she could while they walked. The pistol in her pocket felt heavy and awkward. She hoped she wouldn't ever have to use it. She was really grateful that Steve had cleaned and repaired her father's old pistol, and she was fairly certain he'd done it out of a genuine want for her to be protected -- yet she didn't at all have the heart to ever tell him she didn't want to carry it and hated the thought of it.

She swallowed her feelings and kept on.

Corrine stole a glance or two towards him as they walked, unable to read his expression. Perhaps that was just as well.

They made their way past the water purifier, chugging along in the reservoir. Corrine, not used to babysitting mainlanders, neglected to warn both James' about the potential for the little glowing stalks to be wildlife, and sure enough, an angler emerged.

The scene erupted so quickly, Corrine would perhaps never be able to piece together all of the details in her mind. The Fog had that effect on humans. Castner managed to evade being wounded, but James wouldn't be so lucky. There was so much blood, and screaming, Corrine suspected the angler had ripped the arm clean off.

Castner aimed and fired at the angler. Corinne cried out, twirling her spear over her head, then lunging towards the creature. She hoped the gunshot would distract it enough for her to tear a hole or two into the angler's side.

"Cover me!" she called to Steve, finding dexterity in the adrenaline pounding through her temples. Corrine thrust towards the angler, aiming for the soft spot behind its head in its neck.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

ARCHIE - Sandy Coves Inn, second floor -- mid to late afternoon

“No not the moon robot, the crater just outside of town by the lighthouse.” Steve groaned at the robot “fuck it... Command override vocal audio house, Robert access core programming."

"It's Archie, good sir," the Mr Handy corrected again. "Are you quite all right? I dare say, you've muttered gibberish a total of three times since you entered the inn. Have you suffered any head trauma, recently?"

“Forget it, just take me to the roof robot... although quick question, are you the only robot here? Does... Manager Celeste have other robots?"

"Sir, you may call me 'Archie,' as I have mentioned a few times. Are you suffering from some short-term memory loss? Perhaps you should visit the doctor. Ms Frieda just took over some fresh supplies earlier today." Archie drew up to a ladder and a hatch in the ceiling, tucked far away on the second floor of the inn. "Here we are, good sir! Do be careful on the roof. A fall from a height would only worsen your cerebral condition, or perhaps, kill you. Ta-ta!"

CELESTE BROWN - Sandy Coves Inn - mid to late afternoon

Sara approached one of the rooms closest to the stairwell. “This one will work.” Sara walked inside sitting her pack on the ground, with her rifle resting alongside it. Celeste lingered behind, in the doorway. Sara immediately began to peel off layers of clothing. Celeste glanced away, unsure if Sara were aware that she was still standing there.

Suddenly, there was a creak of bedsprings and a sigh of relief. “I feel like a queen!” Sara giggled as she rolled her sleeves up past her elbows on her flannel, revealing a tattoo on her forearm. Sara pulled her hair up into a messy ponytail, the sides of her hair had been shaven at some point but had regained most of its length. “So where do we go from here?” Sara inquisitively cocked her head towards Celeste as she un-bloused her pant legs, and began to unlace her boots.

Celeste smiled, genuinely oblivious to some overt cues given off by Sara. "Just glad to see you are settling in! I'm going to go back downstairs, I left a mess in the kitchen from baking the scones. If you need anything, just holler, or come on down to the lobby. I should be around for most of the rest of the afternoon, but I have some...plans, later this evening." She blushed after the last statement, twirled, and went back downstairs to the lobby.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Salem Clinic -- late afternoon

Frieda idled at the doorway, glancing occasionally over to Summer, who remained lights out. How much time had gone by? It felt like a while. Was it really worse than food poisoning?

Speaking of food, a delicious smell was in the air, its origin unknown. Frieda looked towards the diner, but there didn't seem to be an excess of steam coming from its exhaust. Someone in town was cooking. Her stomach growled. It occurred to her she had given away her lunch but didn't eat anything in its stead.

There were footsteps behind her. She turned to see the doctor walking back through the clinic with the patient, who seemed to have made a complete and full recovery. Some colour had even returned to his face. He drew up to Frieda, the two were of a height, and he looked right into her eyes.

"Whoa..." he seemed to recoil, then caught himself, "I mean... thanks for the help earlier before, i may have been a tad rude. Rick noel, happy to meet you."

Frieda smirked. "I suppose I have had worse first encounters, and maybe that's saying something." She nodded. "It's Frieda. Glad to see you upright. Are you new to town, or do you live nearby? I just got in yesterday, so I haven't met everyone just yet. I don't mind accompanying you, if you're still feeling...off."

She turned to Arthur. "Oh, and, good news! I've decided to work here for you, full time. Security guard-slash-assistant." Frieda paused, finally realizing how bold it was for her to assume. "That is, if you're okay with that. You look like you could use an extra set of hands, and I just thought...ahem." She fidgeted, then, feeling awkward. "If it's agreeable to you, then I'll be sure to carry my gun much more often. I could even go get it right now, if you want?"