Fallout New Vegas AU

[aeons_crackshot]

3 years, 2 months and 10 days.

That's how long it's been since Annabelle came home to find the ruins of her family's caravan and her mother's body.

Long years, hard years, but she's managed to survive. She's running low on ammunition and lower still on food, which is why she's hunting geckos in the fading light of the evening.

Her trusty cowboy repeater is aimed at a very nice specimen. If it just comes a little closer......

Comments

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle never knew she could feel sorry for what is either a figment of her imagination or the Mojave's ultimate engine of destruction.

"I won't tell if you won't," she offers. "I mean it's not like there are any other witnesses."

[mojavex6]

"Oh, dad just knows those things." The deathclaw crouches, resting elbows on knees and head on knuckles. "I'll get back, and he'll eye me and go all so what happened this time in that tone of voice, and then comes the lecture about how I need to be more careful and how can I expect to be Alpha and Clutch Sire one day if I keep blundering about..."

The deathclaw looks up and speaks to nobody. "Guess what, dad? I don't!"

[aeons_crackshot]

"At least your father's still alive to lecture you," Annabelle snaps, tone bitter.

Then she winces. "Sorry, that was....uncalled for." The moisture gathering in her eyes is totally your imagination. Really. Okay, maybe not.

It's not like she didn't sometimes complain about her parents back before they were murdered.

[mojavex6]

"Was your father a twelve feet tall killing machine that wanted you to be ferocious and civilized all at once?" Really, it doesn't compare. "Nevermind."

The deathclaw is quiet for a while, regarding the human. "You want the rest of the gecko?" About half of it is untouched.

[aeons_crackshot]

"That's a tall order," Annabelle allows. "Um. I'm Annabelle Newfield, by the way." It's only polite.

"Yes, please," she replies. "I was hunting it, for dinner."

[mojavex6]

"Oh. Hm. Me too. Sorry." The Deathclaw picks up the dead gecko and offers it over. "I'm Leander, son of Darius."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Nice to meet you, Leander," Annabelle replies. Normally she'd shake hands, but.....CLAWS. Annabelle takes the offered gecko. "I don't need all of it, just enough for the night. I can go hunting again tomorrow."

Sharing is the neighborly thing to do, right?

It won't take long to remove a human meal sized portion of meat from the gecko.

[mojavex6]

"Not feeling hungry anymore." The Deathclaw sighs and grumbles a bit.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle awkwardly pats Leander in an attempt at being comforting. "Maybe your appetite will come back later."

"Have you ever had cooked gecko?"

[mojavex6]

"Yeah, I had. Don't see the point of cooking food, you waste all the juicy goodness." Leander shifts position a bit. "You humans eat all kinds of weird things."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Less likely to make us sick and easier to digest," Annabelle replies with a shrug.

She ponders the fact that she's eaten 200 year old irradiated fancy lad cakes before. "Yeah, we do, don't we? Never really thought about it that way."

"Do you want to come back to my camp with me?" she asks. It's getting dark and there are all sorts of nocturnal things that would like to snack on tasty human flesh, so she'd better be out of the open soon.

[mojavex6]

"No other humans around?" Really, he's in trouble enough.

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle shakes her head. "Nope, just me. Courier work means I'm usually traveling alone."

[mojavex6]

"Courier?" The deathclaw gets up, stretching.

[aeons_crackshot]

"I take messages and sometimes items between places. It's too dangerous out here for most humans to be willing to travel long distances."

[mojavex6]

"But you are." He nods, ready to follow. "I guess that explains why you did not just run away."

"Or soil yourself." The deathclaw snickers a bit.

[aeons_crackshot]

"It's a living," Annabelle says with a smile. "Get to see a lot of the world too, more than most ever will."

Annabelle snickers too. "Might have soiled myself if I'd eaten anything lately. You're damn scary!"

The campfire is still going, thank goodness! Annabelle adds some dried grass to feed the fire and starts butchering the gecko. "How long has your family been in this area, if you don't mind my asking."

[mojavex6]

Leander crouches again, paws resting on knees. "We aren't: I'm off scouting, the Clutch is a few days travel from here. Dad likes to know how far any dangers are."

[aeons_crackshot]

Annabelle nods. "Makes sense. I wouldn't think there would be a lot of things out there that could endanger your family, though."

One deathclaw is serious bad news, a whole pack of them.....

[mojavex6]

"We still don't like being shot at, and that happens once in a while when humans think they can get away with that." He frowns, and rubs his snout with the back of a paw.

[aeons_crackshot]

"Well, deathclaws DO sometimes hunt and eat people," Annabelle replies with a grimace. "Doesn't make it fair that folks end up shooting at you and your folks, though."

She frowns at him rubbing his snout. "Do you want me to have a look at that, see what I can do?"

[mojavex6]

"Look at what?" The deathclaw tilts head, puzzled. "It's the smell of smoke, makes my nostrils itch."

[aeons_crackshot]

"Oh, sorry. I thought maybe you'd hurt your nose."

The gecko is...well, no longer raw, nor is it incinerated. By Annabelle's standards, that's really good. (A chef, she is not.)

Annabelle takes the gecko off the fire and lets it cool a bit.

[mojavex6]

"No. I was just thinking stuff." And there she is, having a chat with a nine foot tall killing machine. "You delivering something right now?"

[aeons_crackshot]

It is indeed strange.

"On my way back to get paid for the delivery." "I hope." she mutters.

If you guessed there's a story there, you'd be right.