the_last_resort | Blackmoon Celebration

Lot of people back home are kinda small. My friend Elle, she's a lot shorter than I am.

[It's odd to think that in one place people are generally Niko's height, but back home people are on the small side. He just lets Niko mess around with his hand, not entirely sure what he's doing with it but he looks pretty focused on something.]

Never really thought about it myself. For the most part I just thought it was kinda strange. It wouldn't work back home. Probably wouldn't work in a lot of places. Seems to be working here, though.

[After being satisfied with the comparison he lets go so that he can prop himself up on his elbow and take a drink of his own whiskey.]

What does it like back where you're from? Is it. What is it like....

[He moves his hand back over to his lap when Niko lets go, tapping his fingers lightly against his bottle.]

Well, the Mojave's a desert, so it's hotter than it is here. There are towns, but there are still broken down houses and buildings too. For the most part it's sand and rocks, but there's a lake too. Going between towns you're likely to run into things that wanna kill you, so it's not really a good idea to head out unarmed unless you have a death wish. Still a few places you don't wanna stick around too long because of the radiation, and some places you're better off avoiding altogether.

But then there's Vegas, too. People save up everything they have just to get in and blow it all in one night, on women and drinking and gambling. There's three casinos, and then there's the Lucky 38. It's a casino too, but it's been closed off ever since the bombs fell. Nobody knew what was inside until House let Elle in less than a year ago. You can see it from pretty much anywhere in the Mojave, especially at night. It's all tall and lit up.

At least Roman would be happy there. Women. Drinking. Gambling. No loan sharks, it sounds like. It is money he would have to earn himself. For him? It would be a dream even in hell.

But he is good at finding those.

[There's a note of love for a distant family member there. A sad one, but he does miss Roman. He's just better off without him.]

Strip's okay when you first get there. Never seen anything like it before. Gets old, though. Since Elle is allowed in the Lucky 38, so are her friends. It's pretty much been home for us and a few others ever since.

[It reminds Boone of Carla, though. The Strip is everything she loved, and he can't leave it behind. Even if he doesn't like all the people, and isn't too keen on gambling, and doesn't like paying for sex. He can get behind the drinking and the shows at the Tops, but otherwise there's not much for him to do there except mope and think about the past. He prefers traveling with Elle.]

How about you? What's it like where you're from?

[He flops back into his mess of blankets and looks up at the ceiling, squinting at paint patterns.]

It's bright. There are tall buildings. So tall if you look up them from the ground, you get dizzy. Lots of lit signs. People everywhere. Not all of them are very nice. The women can be fake and mean, just want to use you.

The place where I was born, though, before the war I lived on a simple farm. But that was pretty much ruined. Roman likes the bright and the noise of the city. It is a good place for him. I thought I had something good there, too, but she decided to give the wrong guy a chance. I made a bad ending for her.

I don't think there are happy endings, anymore. The most I hope for is maybe a quiet one. I think I would just like something quiet. This isn't too bad so far. [Save for a couple of uneasy explosions. But that's way less than home.]

[It sort of sounds like a really big version of Vegas. And the way he talks about Roman makes him think of Carla, liking the lights and people and noise. But then Niko talks about meeting someone and it ending badly because of him, and he stares off ahead for a few moments before shaking his head and lowering his eyes to his bottle. It hits too close to home.]

I don't think there are, either.

My cousin would say there are no endings, but, pretty sure there are. I'm sorry. Is a bad subject and he's an idiot.

[Even if he loves that idiot. He can see the look on Boone's face though, and he's just drunk enough to wrap his fingers around his wrist. He knows something bad happened there. He recognizes that pain all too well, it's startled him in the mirror a few times.]

[He pulls his wrist away after a moment, not wanting the touch or the sympathy. He'd rather not think about it at all. If he gets to thinking about it when he's been drinking, he's more likely to get upset over it. He doesn't cry, but... it's always more obvious when he's upset over something after he's been drinking. Even now, Niko can see it. He pushes it away as best as he can, fixes his expression, tries to think about something else.]

Been thinking I should rent one of these places. Don't like other people coming into my room uninvited.

Sorry. [He actually apologizes for it when Boone pulls away. He gets that, too. And he pulls his hand back to rub at his temple.]

I have this problem, too. If you get it at this end of town it's pretty cheap. But you might have a harder time because of security. Or maybe you're lucky and people can't tell. It's where the better drinks are, anyway. The people I like more. They feel more real to me.

Not sure if people would recognise me. Guess I do kinda stand out a little, though. Nobody else walks around with a red beret and a robot dog. You think they'd try to break in or something?

[That would be a lot worse than what he's dealing with now. He thinks he'd rather have to pay a little more if it means less chance of people messing with him and his home. He likes the drinks down this end of town better too, but... well, he's used to long walks.]

[Niko looks thoughtful, toying with his glove for a moment before actually pulling it off. Then the other one.]

I know some people. If I talk to them you'll be left alone. [He doesn't want to say much more than that. He already knows that sounds suspicious. But from there he at least admits something.] Unlucky people make unlucky friends. I think they're better about getting each other's backs, too.

And big tough idiot drunks that get in barfights and impress people sometimes make friends, too. [He smiles up at Boone oafishly. It's a little selfish, he wants someone around that he doesn't have to go across town for and hell knows Boone doesn't want to be driven anywhere.]

Huh. Didn't know you were so friendly with the locals here.

[It sounds suspicious, but he thinks enough of Niko that he just takes him by his word and assumes he made friends down here by being drunk and charming. Kind of how he made friends with Boone in the first place, really.]

If you think it'd work... well, I'd be grateful.

Yeah, a little. [And in the meantime he's quietly resigning himself to either receiving or delivering the best ass-kicking he's had in a while. Which could be therapeutic or terrible, but as long as it resolves itself the way that he wants it to.]

You don't seem much like normal cops anyway. Didn't like the ones back home so much. They were all crooked.

Maybe I should've made friends too, but... it's never really been something I was good at.

[He's always been the type to wait for people to come to him, because he's never known what to say.]

Doesn't sound much like people wanna be friends with security down here, anyway.

Maybe it's just the sort of people I know better. The life I know better. Where I am, I am illegal for being in America.

You have been friendly enough with me. [He pulls himself up to a sitting position.]

I was pretty drunk when we met. It's easier after I've been drinking. And I did kinda... knock you over.

[And he'd made him walk all the way back to the resort because he didn't want to get into a taxi. Niko could have just left him to it, but he didn't. He decided to buy them food and walk back with him.]

I would have talked to you sober! I would have. I saw your hat. And your gun. It was interesting. So is the metal dog.

And you're quiet. I'm used to assholes that yell and throw fits. You're good to be around. I don't think you would hurt me for no reason. You're good when you're sober, too.

[Though Niko probably wouldn't name off that much if he was sober, to be honest.]

Sure, I think you would have. I'm just not that good at starting conversations myself. Can never think of what to say.

[He glances over at Niko, a little confused. It does seem like an odd sort of thing to name.]

Why would I hurt you?

[He's never really been the type to become violent for no reason. The Legion had it coming, and he'd defend himself against anything (or anyone) in the wasteland looking to hurt him or his friends. Otherwise, though? He's not all that easy to push into a fight. He doesn't even like raising his voice. He'll defend himself if he needs to, but... really, being loud and unnecessarily violent just isn't his thing.

Of course, he's known guys who are the complete opposites. So maybe Niko did too, and maybe they took it out on him sometimes. Niko's a pretty tough guy, though. He wouldn't have thought he'd make an easy target.]

I don't know. [He says it uncertainly, as if the idea that men being "safe" wasn't normal rather than the other way around, some implicit threat to be around and one couldn't even find protection under the clause of family. His gaze darts to and fro, around the room and to the cat which has now settled on a broad ladder step to his attic.]

I meet a lot of men that are bullies. My father was one. A lot of soldiers were bullies. A lot of mobsters were bullies. The cops, especially this.

Ever since I was a little kid. But you seem easy going. Like my friend Jacob, but more sad and less marijuana. Still smoking something, though. You're a good person to be around. [But he's still sounding uneasy, as if he's having to reconsider how normal that is. He's trying not to think that could be wrong and he just knows a lot of terrible people. Right now it feels better to make how Boone or Jacob behave the special case ]

Edited 2014-07-16 08:22 (UTC)

Yeah, I've met my share of bullies. Don't really see the point in it. Never did.

[He looks down at his bottle, swirling the contents around.]

I like people who talk a lot, though. I don't always have much to say. Like listening more. Not saying I like loud people, but... people who don't mind if you're quiet for a little while.

I talk more to people I like. I like Charon, but it seems like he doesn't have a whole lot of like in him. I'm not sure about the undead girl so I've been steering clear of her. I don't like that Time Lord politician guy, so I don't talk to him much. I like the elf girl. [It strikes him then that he likes most of the members of patrol that he's met, and at least that means one day he'll probably be taken in peacefully. He'll try to keep that from happening. He would try to disentangle himself from the Blood Pack, but at this point he knows things like that are impossible. It just gets the people close to you killed. That should remind him not to get close to anyone, but he's 90% sure he can keep up a safety barrier, something that'll ever keep him from caring too much. He always could before, why couldn't he now?]

[He doesn't consider that he might be a bit more fragile than he used to be. He's not held together by as much. Kate's death took the best parts of him, and they supported the rest of his personality whether it be ruthless or amiable.]

[He swivels around in place to look over at Boone. That's easier to think about at the moment.]

I guess there's not a lot to be said sometimes. [He takes another drink of his whiskey and lightly clinks their bottles together.]

[He nods, going to lean back but sort of underestimating the distance between himself and the pillows. He looks vaguely surprised for a moment as he falls back, before propping himself up on his elbow sheepishly. He doesn't always notice just how much his drink is going to his head when he's sitting down. He's quick to make sure he didn't spill any, and luckily he didn't, or else he would've felt bad for making Niko's bed wet.]

...I kinda wish someone had come with me, sometimes. I know a couple of them were interested. Not planning on staying here forever though, so I guess it's not so bad. Don't think I could just move away from home like that, not like you did.

I didn't have much of an attachment to that place. My aunt thought it would be a good home for me, but ah... America was pretty disappointing. I miss my cousin, but he would do better not to have me around.

Because of men chasing me? He was kidnapped twice, shot, beaten. He always came out with a positive attitude because he is fucking crazy. But I couldn't. Even if he wanted to keep me there and even if I killed those men. That on top of what happened to Kate. Should I be telling you that I killed people? I probably shouldn't be telling you that I killed people. They were assholes out to kill me, though, so I think that it's okay. Anyway, it's better if I never go home.

[Then, despite the subject matter, he laughs a little.] You're getting really drunk. Hey, you can stay here until you need to go back. [Niko says as if he's not really drunk.] The cat might try to sleep on you, though.

I couldn't leave Vegas behind. It's... important to me. Too many lights and people, but something good happened there.

[He just shrugs in response to Niko killing people.]

I've killed people too.

[Even people who didn't deserve it. He's not thinking about it, not now. As for Niko's crazy, optimistic cousin...]

My friend Elle, she was pretty optimistic about everything when we first met. Like everything was an adventure to her. She got shot in the head and forgot everything that happened to her before that, and when she met me it hadn't even been a month since she woke up. So... I dunno, maybe everything was an adventure to her then. She always had a smile for everything, or something encouraging to say. She found me when I'd already given up on everything, but I went along with her and she helped me out a lot. Can't say her attitude rubbed off on me much, but it kept me going. So maybe it's a good thing to have sometimes, someone who always sees the bright side of things, even if you do have to wonder if they're crazy sometimes.

[And... yeah, he's had more to drink than he thought. Oh well. He'll still try to see if he can walk at some point, but he won't say no to staying here if walking is difficult.]

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sorry for the icon of shirtlessness but the position was right

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