the_campus | Please don't bite the newbie!

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Please don't bite the newbie!

Just a little to the left and open! [Sibyll announces triumphantly, standing up and pushing the door open to what should have been an unexplored ruin. Except it's not. Clearly confused, she takes a few steps into the bizarrely green courtyard. Pulling out a handgun, she looks around, clearly bewildered. Behind her, the door creaks shut and vanishes into the wall.]

Wait, no! [A little panicked, she presses her hand up against where the door used to be, tapping it lightly in an attempt to hear a hollow 'thump' that may indicate a hidden door. Not that there's any to be found.]

...Well, damn.

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Kept to myself, mostly.

[Now that they aren't simply confined to this building, however... he's thinking he could preoccupy himself with hunting. It would give him a chance to keep his skills sharp, as well as keep him supplied with decent food.]

Nothing good comes from wandering. Found a bar, that's about the only place worth checking out.

[In Boone's opinion, anyway.]

A bar? [She laughs at that being the first new place Boone managed to find.]

I thought you said this is a school? Or was a school.

It is. Don't ask me why there's a bar here. Was a door back to the Mojave not long ago... but it wasn't really the Mojave, I guess. We got kicked back here after a day.

[He puffs smoke rings from his lips, leaning back more comfortably against the wall. Nothing to do but drink and smoke. Almost like he never left Novac... there's just less shooting involved, much to Boone's dismay.]

[She tilts her head, looking puzzled.]

Wait, back to the Mojave, but not really? What do you mean?

Soon as we stepped through the door, we had bomb collars around our necks. Turned out to be a test of some kind. Keep your partner alive, or you die too. Wander too far away from each other, you both die.

[He shakes his head as he recalls what happened.]

Ran into deathclaws. Got a feeling that was part of the "test".

[Deathclaws and Radscorpions... it wasn't exactly fun.]

After a day, the door back here just... appeared. Don't ask me to explain it. I don't have a goddamn clue. This place... it's not your average school. I'd watch your back if I were you.

[She couldn't help it. Sibyll visibly shuddered, having some very vivid and very unpleasant flashbacks of an abandoned casino and a crazed old man who had inflicted a similar test on her.]

Thanks for the warning.

[She goes quiet again, thinking.]

Who was your partner?

[Boone notices her reaction, but figures she just doesn't like the idea in general. He can't really blame her. He scowls as he replies.]

Vulpes Inculta. Can't say spending an entire day with him was my idea of fun, but I don't think he was having the time of his life, either.

[Since Vulpes hadn't been armed, Boone was the one doing the shooting whenever they ran into hostiles. They'd ended up hiding out in a home in Goodsprings. Boone had spent most of that time irritating Vulpes by smoking in his presence, and Vulpes had spent most of that time nursing a headache where Boone had clubbed him over the head with the butt of his rifle.]

[The memories of the Sierra Madre vanishes in an instant once Boone mentions the name of his impromptu partner.]

Vulpes Inculta? He's here? And you didn't just let yourself get blown up just to destroy him? I have to admit, I'm a bit surprised. Not that I would want you dead.

[The easiest lies are always the ones that are half-truths.]

[Boone arches an eyebrow at her reaction.]

Unfortunately, yeah. He's here.

[Luckily nobody has died yet, since Boone stole his Ripper. Yeah, like he's letting the guy run around with that.]

[Whoops, he picked up on her potential interest. Hopefully she can downplay it with a few more questions.]

And what's keeping you from filling him with lead now? There's no bomb collar around your neck.

[Boone is perceptive, but not exactly intelligent. He isn't likely to draw anything from her behaviour other than "huh, that was weird".]

...Made a promise to him. Long story.

[At first it had been because he'd promised to help Boone find out who sold Carla- he hadn't really believed him but it was his only lead. After revealing that he didn't need his help anymore thanks to Elle, the only way to stop Vulpes from effectively committing suicide to bring the both of them down was to promise that once they got out of that room, he wouldn't kill him.]

You, Craig Boone, made a promise with a Legionary?

[She's not faking anything now. That surprise is all genuine.]

I guess you don't remember this, but the Boone I know nearly got himself killed trying to wipe out a Legion raiding party camp we tripped across and made me release the Powder Gangers they had captive.

[She sniffs with disdain at that last part. She did not like the criminal gang with a penchant for carrying dynamite.]

[He scowls and flicks his cigarette butt away.]

You think I don't want him dead? Believe me, every second he's still breathing is a second too long. It was either that or get my head blown off, and I've still got a job to do.

[He still needs to get back home, kill Jeannie May himself, and then... well, then every Legionary is fair game. Until then, there's nothing to do but suffer the knowledge that Vulpes is still alive.]

And what job is that?

[She's still having trouble believing that Boone of all people is letting a Legionary walk around alive. He was part of the reason she kept her alliances and obsessions as well hidden as possible. She didn't want to end up like Jeannie May.]

Avenge Carla, and hunt Legionaries. Too many walking the Mojave. Not enough being done about it.

[The world doesn't seem to be done with him yet. All he can do is wait- and while he's waiting, he may as well be sending Caesar's men to their graves. He could finish it right here, right now- but he won't. He can't. Not yet.]

Okay, so what did you promise Vulpes?

[She hopes pressing the matter would result in an answer and not Boone's silence as this could potentially be a problem for her. A problem that she needs to know the severity of.]

You're asking a lot of questions.

[It's not silence, but it's not an answer- and it's Boone's way of saying he's had enough of this conversation.]

A bad habit of mine.

[More like carefully cultivated habit. Still, she could tell he was entering his silent mode. Best to change the subject and try again at a later time.]

Did your rifle make it here with you? I can always use more coaching when it comes to sniping.

Yeah.

[He turns slightly- it's right where it always is, slung over his back just incase. Makes leaning aganst a wall kind of difficult but so long as he leans more to the side it's fine.]

Don't recall offering free lessons, though.

[Not for someone he doesn't know or trust, anyway.]

Don't the best snipers work in pairs? You seem to be without your spotter.

[Her smile is masking her frustration with the recalcitrant soldier. She knew there was a reason they parted ways.]

[He considers what she says, but he still isn't sure. In this place, he doesn't really need a spotter. There are no Legionaries save for one, no mutated animals... no hostiles at all. Still... what else does he have to do? He shakes his head with a resigned sigh.]

I doubt your idea of a good time is hunting wildlife, but fine.

Don't sell yourself so short, Boone. You know how to offer a lady a good time. Where do you want to go shooting?

[No faking anything now. Sibyll is genuinely pleased at his agreement.

She does ever so much like shooting things.]

[He grunts and pushes off the wall, gesturing vaguely past the school building.]

Lots of wildlife around outside here. Not sure what most of the animals are but so far they seem to be good to eat.

[He'd rather risk eating an unknown animal over the lunch lady's cooking.]

Follow me. And don't wander off.

Does anything even look like it's from home?

[She tags along obediently. It sounds like there will be ample time for exploring later.]

Not really. I've seen birds, that's about it. Couple of squirrels too. No geckos or scorpions here.

[Thankfully.]

No idea what the other animals are, though.

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wildcard_of_the_desert - 2013-08-22 17:25 (UTC) - Expand

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