SkrtWithAWeapon

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

@Kouropalates no rush -- I've been run off my feet/out of my mind as of late -_- sorry it took me so long to offer such a paltry reply.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

@Kouropalates I figure that sets it up for it to roll into the next day? Celeste will just go to bed once she's brought home. :)

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN - Adam's place -- evening

Adam sighed. He stood, picking up the picture on the small shrine of Pre-War American things and brought it over. "See that woman? According to the writing on the back of it her name was Gladys. She fought for this country, back when it was still whole." He gently took it up and placed it back on the small memorial of Old World things. "It doesn't matter in the long run on the grand scheme of things, but the point I'm getting at it is everything we find has a story. Stories of heroes like hers should be preserved, so we can remember the good of those who came before us. Too many people think like nihilists in this war ravaged world, but I think people like her are reminders we can be good people and make the world better.".

"Nile Lists, you say? I've never met one, I don't think," Celeste replied, tapping her nose.

Adam laughed, "That's probably a little more philosophical an answer than you were expecting. But come on, we don't need such heavy thoughts tonight. I have a better idea." Adam stood up, straightening the sweatervest he was wearing, and changed the song playing, waiting for the soft music to play before he turned back to Celeste.

Celeste felt slightly flushed, unsure if it was the doing of the wine, the situation, or a combination of both. She took another sip for good measure.

As Peggy Lee began to sing softly in the background Adam smiled, mechanically bending in front of her to extend his hand. "May I have your hand for this dance, Miss?"

Celeste wiped some curls off her face and accepted his hand. "Well, sure!"

Adam took Celeste by the hand and escorted her to the middle of the room and they slowly began to dance under the light. His body was warm, even if the ancient threads of the wool of his sweater vest were scratchy on her cheek. The low lighting combined with the music, and the ambiance of the room made the experience somewhat surreal. She felt happy.

Adam cleared his throat. "Celeste, I...I've been looking forward to this since you first hit on me, but I was scared to move. You're the first woman to spark desire in my heart for the longest time." Adam leaned his head into her hair, giving a long, gentle kiss to the top of her forehead.

Celeste pulled herself even closer to Adam's body and warmth. "Oh, Adam," she gushed, "I'm so glad." She nuzzled her face into his chest and sighed. "Everyone does have a story. I heard all kinds of them when I worked with my parents in Niagara Falls." Celeste squeezed him tight and looked up to his face with a shy smile. "Now mine includes you, too." She tilted her head and pushed her lips to meet his in a sweet, gentle kiss.

The song ended, the music player slowly rolling into the next track. Celeste clutched Adam's hands in hers. "This has been a wonderful evening, Adam. It's getting a little late. Will you walk me back home?"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - clinic -- night fall/it's dark/whatever

"Thank you Frieda," Arthur said with a sigh of relief as he handed her back her effects, "You'll have to excuse me, I have a strict decontamination regiment to implement now, thanks to our friend Steve. I, uh, suppose I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Mm," she nodded, her mouth full of coffee. She swallowed, then spoke. "I'll be here."

"Thanks...thanks again for the drink. I enjoyed our talk. Listen...I know I'm a doctor and not a therapist..but, well, if you'd like to talk more your brother and your...people. Then my door is always open. I think I understand what you're going through better than most...believe me. Have a good night Frieda."

Frieda took another sip of the coffee. "That's...well, thanks. I...will think about that." She didn't want to sound ungrateful but she certainly hadn't expected that kind of response for how much she'd gushed about Brian, and home. She wasn't sure it was healthy.

I suppose I'm going to be up for many hours, yet. I can think about it, then.

"Goodnight, doc," she waved, "good luck with your decontamination whatnot." Frieda took a final pull off her cigarette and tossed it to the ground, being particularly careful to send it away from the clinic. While distracted, she nearly walked right into a man she hadn't seen before as he passed the clinic from the other direction.

"Nice night tonight," he said by way of greeting. He held out his hand. "I'm Waylon."

Frieda's first instinct was to salute, but in the awkward second where she caught herself from doing it, her hand jerked and twitched some coffee out of the cup. "Oh shit," she hissed, passing the cup into her left hand and wiping her right on the back of her pants. "Sorry, I was...lost in thought," she muttered, finally extending her hand properly and shook. "I'm Frieda. Nice to meet you. -- wait, your name sounds familiar. Do you have a weapons shop? I think that's what Brandy said. I'm Brandy's...roommate, I guess you could call it. She isn't exactly charging me rent."

"I hope I didn't spill any coffee on you. I'm actually just heading back to the house right now for some extra clothes. I'm pulling a watch at the head of the main road, there were a couple raider attacks during the day, and some wounded Gunners heading north, so I'm going to...uh, watch for them." She found herself babbling as she started to feel nervous about posting herself as watch. What if those Gunners weren't as dilapidated as she hoped and they manage to rip her to pieces? Frieda shuddered.

"To think that Ace just told me he wants street lights. Why don't we just build a tower with flashing lights that says 'ROB US NOW'? God, that guy..."

Frieda cleared her throat. "Sorry, I didn't mean to just, uh, start talking like that. You were heading somewhere, I didn't mean to keep you."

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN - Adam's place -- nightfall

Celeste had begun to worry that perhaps Adam had forgotten about their date...or maybe he had meant a different night? Sudenly, some thudding from behind the door could be heard and the door bumped open to reveal a dimly lit room and the silhouette of Adam himself. A beautiful tune warbled over the air from behind him.

"Ah.." Adam cleared his throat, "C-Celeste, you look beautiful. I love the way you've done your hair and the dress, it compliments you too."

Celeste offered a short curtsey and a smile. "Thank you, Adam! How sweet of you to say. Wonderful night, isn't it?"

"I'm sorry! Here." He stepped aside and let her in and shut the door behind her. "I'm sorry, but I fear my home ain't exactly as nice as yours, but I did make you dinner." He went over to the hotplate setup and brought two warm plates of steak and a mixed array of vegetables.

Celeste couldn't help but glance around. It wasn't in a state of disarray, but Adam certainly had an eclectic collection of things strewn about. It was extremely fascinating. She took a seat at the table, folded her hands in front of her, and gave a genuine smile. "Thank you so much for inviting me over. I, well, have been looking forward to spending the time with you like this all day."

'"I've also...uh..." Adam looked around, almost panicked. "Ah!" He knelt down on the floor, digging in boxes under his cot. "I have a vintage bottle of the good stuff." He produced dark sealed bottle. "Can't read the brand, but it's Franciacorta wine. Good stuff, found it at some ritzy golf course down the coast."

Celeste's heart leapt and that moonstruck feeling seized her once more. "My goodness, Adam, what a treat! I...I'm just so flattered you would share such a treasure with me."

Adam uncorked the bottle and poured Celeste a whiskey glass of the wine, its clearish-yellow streaming with a soft hiss into the glass and he placed it beside her at the table before pouring himself a glass and seating himself at the table with the bottle between them. Adam spoke up and blushed, "Sorry I took so long, Celeste. See, ahem, I was trying to get the music player to start and it likes to be a pain in the ass but I wanted to surprise you, give you a special night and all." He chuckled softly, "I'm sure running an inn with a few Handys can't exactly be easy." Adam smiled once more, "So. How was your day, Celeste? I reckon you must have quite a tale to share running that place."

Celeste had fallen into every word he'd spoken so deeply, it took her at least a moment to realize he had posed her a direct question. "I...oh! Yes, definitely," she replied dreamily, reaching for her whiskey glass and casually swirling the wine. "You're an excellent host, Adam, to be sure."

She lifted the glass up to her nose and sniffed, like she saw in the only pre-war film she'd ever watched in her life. The wine smelled tangy. Celeste realized she had no idea what she was really smelling for and took a sip. The wine was wonderful. It was smooth on her palate, despite its age, and had sweet notes she couldn't at all identify. Perhaps fruits from before the war, that no one would ever know again. "You weren't kidding," she smiled again, "this tastes like nothing I've ever had before." She held her glass up over their plates. "Cheers!"

"My day was just super, thank you. And thanks to you!" she giggled. "I'm really happy I met you." Celeste helped herself to her dinner, cutting off a small portion of the steak and taking the bite. She chewed the meat, tender and flavourful in her mouth, then swallowed, before continuing. "Actually, I only got into town yesterday morning. It feels like months ago, though..." She took another sip of wine. "Archie -- my robot -- uh, I mean, the robot -- took out all the skeletons and broken furniture and whathot out, changed most of the beds, all that sort of thing. It's no wonder people seemed to love them before the war, they're just so helpful, you know? Must be why there are so many still around."

"I have my first customer, too. Her name is Sara. She came in -- oh!! After the first gunfight! Jeepers," she carried on, having another bite of steak and vegetable, "there was some kind of fight out on the edge of town. Then later, just before I was getting ready to come and see you, there was another fight." Celeste shuddered, shaking her curls down to her bosom and hips. She clutched her glass with both hands. "It was really close, too. Almost like it was right outside the inn, itself."

Celeste paused. "Well. We don't need to talk about that, hmm? Nothing new in the wasteland, as they say." She reached out and placed her hand over his, looked him in the eyes, and smiled. "Tell me, what brought you to town? A new treasure? Ooh! What all was in that chest you took from the inn? What do you like so much about old world treasures? I mean, I've seen my share of this and that, but I am always so fascinated by what other people see in them. They don't have hardly any trade value, but so many folks collect them!"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - diner bar -- evening

"Rather angry young woman isn't she?" Arthur remarked, before he too tuned into the radio announcement. Apparently, the Minutemen had assaulted a Gunner position somewhere in the city, and emerged victorious. The radio DJ had stated that a group of them had escaped the attack and were likely to be heading north.

"Well that's not good..." He said, stating the obvious, "Gunners are well armed and well trained. Raiders are one thing...Gunners are quite another. Perhaps we should double the watch for tonight? Or...maybe even call for The Minutemen?" Arthur turned to look across the diner at the patient from before, Rick.

Frieda raised an eyebrow. "What watch? If you think cranky over there," she wagged her beer bottle towards Barney, "is gonna pull a double overnight, you're dreaming. And I'm not sure how tough our friend over there is, after getting his ass kicked by his lunch." She glanced at the doctor's face and realized she was probably a bit harsh. "Sorry. I'm...not used to being surrounded by folks who weren't conditioned from childhood to have a tactical approach to things. You aren't wrong; sadly, we don't exactly have the resources for that, at the moment."

Hell, I'd be able to pull it off easily, if I had some of those boosters they used to pass around like candy back home.

"If they're retreating, it seems most likely they'd raid us for supplies and a place to lick their wounds. Though from what I know of the Gunners, they probably won't be nice about it. Many are armed and armoured and most seem coordinated enough to have paid attention to minimal training," she agreed.

Frieda downed the rest of her beer then wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, a crass gesture, but she didn't exactly care at that point. "I need a coffee to go," she said at the grumpy waitress, then stood. "I'll walk you back to the clinic, if you like. It's on the way to Brandy's house. I'm going to pick up some ammo and a sweater, then take the first watch. Hey!" she barked at Barney.

"What?" was the gruff reply.

"Someone needs to take over my watch at around midnight. I'll be at the main road until then."

"...oh. Uh, right. Sure," Barney agreed.

The waitress plunked the coffee onto the counter, nearly sloshing it right out the top of the rims. "On the house, okay?"

Frieda blinked. What was with the sudden change of heart? "Well, all right." She took the mug by the handle and made her way to the door. She managed to juggle a smoke and her lighter out of her pocket while she walked down the street, carrying her coffee. As they drew up to the clinic, the trail of blood indicated that Steve had, indeed, dragged the body into the clinic. "For fuck's sake..." she muttered. "Hold this." Frieda pushed her coffee cup into Arthur's hands. "...uh, sorry. And this," she sheepishly gave him her still-burning cigarette.

With a grunt and a sigh, she picked up the pungent corpse by the shoulders of its shirt and pulled it along the floor and outside the clinic, dragging it back down the stairs and leaving it in the street. It was heavier than she had expected, but she managed. She broke a slight sweat with the effort. "I'll move it on my way back out to the main entrance, but at least it's outside, for now." Frieda held her hands out for her coffee and her smoke. "I'll take those back, now."

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

@Kouropalates

Celeste is finallyyyyyy there!

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

CELESTE BROWN - Sandy Coves Inn -- dinnertime and about to be late for her date

"We'll be alright guys...I promise." Sara came behind the counter and gave Celeste a reassuring squeeze around the shoulders. Brandy took her leave.

"Ah, okay, bye, Brandy! We can catch up later," Celeste gave a short wave.

"Good evening," Archie added, as Brandy left, saying goodbye to both.

“I'll hang out up here until things settle down. How's that sound?” Sara grinned. Before she let go of Celeste she rubbed her shoulder ever so gently and crawled up on the counter.

Celeste gaped at Sara, finally realizing what it was she was doing. "O-oh! Okay! That's really nice of you!"

"It's entirely unnecessary," huffed Archie.

Celeste glowered at the robot. "You hush." She jammed her fists onto her hips, causing her curls and her bosom to jiggle. "You weren't anywhere helpful both times shots went off. If Sara wants to help protect us, then I don't see why not."

Archie seemed to pause. "Yes, well, whatever you like, manager. I was merely organizing this inn of yours for you, certainly not helpful. I'll just get back to doing that, then?" The robot turned and retreated back into the depths of the inn.

Celeste completely did not pick up on Archie's sarcastic, passive aggressive tone. She perked right back up, smiling and waving at him. "Oh! Well that sure sounds good. Thank you!"

She turned back to Sara, finally getting a glance at her. In her panic and fear she hadn't noticed that Sara had bathed. Her hair and skin was clean and smelled lightly of soap. "Ohh! Sara, you're already settling in and making yourself comfortable. That's delightful!" she smiled. Celeste adjusted her dress on her shoulders. She glanced at Brandy's picnic basket with regret. "That chicken sure smells great. Here, Sara, if you get hungry, please help yourself. I need to get going. I'll be back later tonight if you need me!"

Celeste stepped through the doors and into the twilight. The breeze off the water pushed her curls off her cheeks and smelled of brine and decay. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. "I better get going," she said aloud to herself. She walked through the town, watching people enter the diner and going about their evening routine. Soon enough she found herself at Adam's place. She pulled out the note once more, re-read it for a third time, and confirmed she was at the right spot. Her heart fluttered, thrilled and nervous at the same time. Celeste reached up and smoothed her hair, then her dress, and finally she knocked on the door.

"Adam, it's me, Celeste!" She paused. "Sorry if I'm late. There was a little bit of...ah...unpleasantness outside the inn."

Celeste stood quietly for a moment, shifting side to side in her nervousness. Finally, she knocked, again. "Adam? Are...are you there?"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Diner -- nightfall

"If...you don't mind me asking," He began, hesitantly, "Why did you leave The E.." He caught himself, "..your people..that is, what made you leave? You say you don't want to go back...why?"

Frieda offered a sad smile. "I appreciate your discretion. It's one of the swear words in the wasteland, but understandably so. Not many surface rats -- folks, I meant folks, live to tell about when we come to town." She pushed some hair off her shoulder and sat up a little straighter.

"I had a brother, a twin, born eight minutes after I was. We shared some sibling resemblance, but other than that, he was quite a bit different than I. More serious. Stronger, more resilient. He was quickly recruited for field ops, but I was more apt towards detail and the technical, so I was trained as a pilot." Frieda realized she was getting off track. "He was my best and closest friend. Probably the only one I had, in the end. He was favoured, I'm sure you can understand, because he was smart, strong, and quintessential...uh, tribe." She made sure to avoid the dreaded "E" word, as well. She smirked, again. "I never married, hardly dated. Men and women both almost always just tried to use me to get closer to him."

"Despite all that, though," she continued after another sip of beer, "he and his entire team went missing after an operation, and all they did was write him off. 'Missing, presumed dead.' He was one of the best in generations and no one gave a shit to look for him, let alone get his body back for a proper ceremony." Frieda clenched her fists and blinked back angry tears. "It just made me sick. Heh," she chuckled, "it still does."

She sniffed and flipped her bangs across her forehead. "Everyone moved on, almost like he'd never even existed. His shadow was lifted off of me and my life but I was still almost invisible and no one seemed to care that he deserved better. Hell, that I deserved better. So, I decided to search for closure, myself. If they wouldn't care, I would show Brian that I at least did. That I do."

“Hey doc," called a voice from outside. Frieda turned to see Steve standing there with a corpse slung over his shoulder. "I found you a blood bag, I’ll leave them at the clinic for you.”

Frieda took a slow breath, held it for a moment, then exhaled. Once the doc had responded and Steve had walked off, she continued. "Honestly, even if I wanted to go back, I'd be shot dead at the door. But if things don't work out, I just might go knocking. I'd rather be executed than die at the hand of...of one of them," she nodded towards the door, heavily implying a reference towards Steve.

"Would you both shut up?" hissed the rude waitress. "We're all tryin' to listen to the news."

Frieda stuck her tongue out at the waitress, then glanced over at Arthur to roll her eyes and wink. She hushed herself, though, to let the broadcast play through.

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

FRIEDA RICHTER - Diner -- evening

"Oh..yes...well," Arthur began, "I suppose...I suppose we were lucky. We had plenty of food, water, and power. Our D..Overseer was a brilliant scientist, most of us were scientists actually. I guess that must have been our...experiment. Yeah, you know, pack a bunch of scientists into a vault and see what happens, not sure what Vault-Tec was trying to accomplish with that one. We had also had robots to do most of the day to day things around the Vault, so most of use could just focus on our work. Just normal robots though, nothing really special about them."

He took another quick drink of the beer, nearly coughed that out as well, and looked back at Frieda, "Good beer," He said, with a smile that was trying to hide a grimace.

Frieda wouldn't be convinced. She gently removed the beer from his hand. "I shouldn't have assumed and asked you what you liked, first." Someone else drew up to the bar and asked for a 'mutfruit milkshake with rum.' Frieda gestured in that direction. "Would you rather have one of those? Don't be shy, I can tell you're just trying to be polite. Order whatever you want."

She finished off her beer and moved on to Arthur's discarded stout. "Whatever Vault-Tec was trying to do, it must have worked. You definitely don't talk the same as any other surface...person." She caught herself before she said something derogatory. "'Normal robots,' now that's funny. As far as I know, only that 'Institute' played around with the people-bots. But you can shoot them dead just like the rest of 'em," she shrugged. "I overheard some of the other officers talking, once, saying some of them were programmed to think they were people, had no idea they were robots. Something like, they would break and bleed just like flesh and bone, and they never knew they were anything but a regular human." Frieda nudged him playfully in the arm. "I bet you've stitched up a couple out here in the wastes and never knew it, huh?"

What am I doing?

She stopped herself before she could embarrass herself further. Frieda took a slow draught of the stout. "It's a little fascinating, how they've managed to dig themselves out of near-annihilation and all. I love it and hate it, you know? But I'm presumed dead, and frankly, I don't want to go back. There was nothing left for me, there. What's the point of considering yourself greater than the rest of the population, if you won't value your own kind?" She paused, brooding.