the_last_resort | Blackmoon Celebration

Enjoying one of the nights on a rooftop? At another high vantage point? Trying to get away from the noise? It's beautiful and quiet, and you can almost see distant nebula off in the starry darkness and the passing of ships as they streak by the world. You can also see over the fence, hear the turrets going off occasionally. It's not surprising because the spiders are being especially active.

Occasionally, though, there might be something unclear and distant moving strangely out there in the moonlight. Only for a moment or two, though before it's gone again. Maybe the spiders act a little strangely during the eclipse. Still, no one is allowed outside the fence, so it's impossible to check.

[Boone is out by the fence with a bottle of whiskey and a cigarette between his lips, sitting on the grass and watching the turrets take care of the spiders. He's had a fair bit to drink, and is feeling pretty relaxed sitting here. The celebrations were interesting at first, but after a while all the noise bothered him. The merchants trying to shove goods in his face irritated him, and he only bought a ball with eight rubber legs because he figured he could give it to Rex. He's pulling the legs off now, not really seeing the point in them.

Rex isn't with him tonight. The noise and people might have confused him. He's a good dog, but trained to attack anything that looks threatening. He might've attacked the "spiders" in the parade. He probably would've tried to attack the spiders behind the fence too, and Boone doesn't have any means of keeping him away from them. Occasionally, Boone thinks he sees something else out there, but then he blinks or breathes out smoke and it's gone or it's just a spider.]

What you got there?

[He points to the gradually dismembered spider. This comes out sounding more like "wotchoo got dere" when Niko says it, and he figures he knows Boone well enough at this point he can pass up the pleasantries when saying hi. Less words involved for him, after all.]

[He actually doesn't have vodka, for once. He has an ale of some sort. It smells strong and like one of those things that come from a family operation, not that Boone would be able to tell that. Just something very mildly sweet on the odor would be obvious, a little rich too. It's not clear.]

[Hell knows what sort of magic space grain they used to make it from.]

[He sits by him so he can see through the fence, just noting that Boone is enjoying this show more.]

[He glances over as Niko sits down, and holds up the ball. It has about three legs left, and makes a sorry-looking spider.]

Ball. Got it for Rex, but the legs were in the way so I was taking them off.

[He can smell the ale as Niko sits down, and wrinkles his nose a little.]

What're you drinking?

[He sits down the bottle and with a contemplative expression he picks up two of the legs off the ground. It's ale.] It's ah, do they have any left around during your time? [Then after looking at those legs for long enough, sticks them in his ears, and purses up his lips at Boone as though he has buck-teeth, and wiggles his index fingers on either side of his mouth in his best quick spider impression. Then he pulls them out and resumes default "too-hard" face.]

He'll probably like that.

Never smelled anything like that before, but I'm sure there's something like it. People back home can get pretty creative when it comes to alcohol.

[If there's one thing not lacking after the apocalypse, it's alcohol and the people determined enough to make more.]

Someone I know back home makes moonshine with maize, mutfruit, yeast and a fission battery. It's, uh... well, it gets the job done, but you've gotta be pretty desperate to drink it.

[He glances up to catch Niko with fake spider legs in his ears and chuckles quietly, going back to his bottle. It's still not much of a laugh, but it's more than Boone usually offers.]

[He feels like even a little laugh is a grand accomplishment with Boone, though he has no idea how exceptional it actually is. If he did know he'd probably smile more himself. Instead he offers his drink to share lazily, for him to try.] Usually a grain. Yeast. I do not know for sure what is in this one, but usually I drink vodka. Do you still have that?

Is truly terrible world if no vodka.

[Niko thinks he would waste away.]

[He takes the drink and tries it, then offers it back. Better than Cass' moonshine, at least.]

Yeah, we've got vodka. Prefer whiskey, though.

[He puts his cigarette back to his lips, looking out past the fence.]

Spiders are going pretty nuts out there. Think they just wanna see the parade?

They hear us. Us in general.

[He motions around before he settles cross-legged, elbows on his knees.] When we go in the caves they'll follow you in the dark. They're stupid. They don't know how to get through thin barriers. You can put up a tent and if it is zipped? They won't know how to get inside.

But they hear you and they stay there. They will be there until you're ready to come out. Like food is no issue for them. For you? They can go hungry forever. They just wait.

Is just another celebration for winning against an enemy. Even if it's a really stupid [but very dangerous] one. [Then he switches subjects.] Have you had really good whiskey? Stuff at blues place. Music club. It's not so bad.

They sure can climb, though. Kinda... weird to watch, if I'm honest. None of them have gotten close to the fence tonight, but I've been patrolling at night before and caught them halfway up. Watched until it got to the top, then I shot it down.

[He shakes his head, looking up at the nearest turret.]

No, never been there. Was planning on it, though. Maybe I should make a point of it though, if the whiskey's good.

I appreciate the no violence policy. Some nights I am just not in the mood for a bar fight.

[Even if most places make you leave, Dorian's had proven mellow enough that he isn't so much worried about violence there. He looks up at it as Boone does, leaning to do so, and then sits back again.]

They're creepy as shit, I do admit. But they die easy enough.

[And that's when a fowl walks in front of them, on the other side of the fence. It looks at them through it, spoots out an egg, and then wanders off. And that's the entirety of the encounter. A bird of dubious construction just looked at both of them and dropped an egg, an it leaves Niko staring blandly for a moment.]

You mean some nights you are?

[Boone has felt the urge to punch people in his darker moods, but he's never actually done it. For one thing he realises he'd probably get his ass kicked, and besides that his method of coping with things is usually to go off and mope on his own.

He watches the bird, blinks when it drops an egg, and watches it walk off.]

Oh.

[Well. Okay then, that was weird.]

[Niko briefly forgets the subject of barfights because he's watching that bird just amble away, and then he looks at the egg. And then he barks a quick laugh, just because it was oddly ridiculous. He doesn't want to test the spiders, but the turrets are there and he reaches through slats to grab the egg quickly and lean back.]

[He holds it up to Boone.]

You want an omelette?

Gonna be a small omelette.

[He shrugs, but he's smiling a little. The whole thing struck him as pretty ridiculous, too.]

Might as well do something with it, though. So, sure.

[Not like they're gonna sit on it to keep it warm or anything.]

Get Away From it All

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