Season Finale

[travelagency]

Who: Anyone who wants to be involved
What: The official pre-reboot/season end post
When: The spawner activation
Where: At the resort
Notes & Warnings: If anyone wants to play out any rescue scenarios involving the skeleton archers, there's a thread available for that/accounting for what happened as well. Violence as a general warning and whatever other warnings are mentioned.

EDIT: It can be noted that, once exposed to sunlight, the skeleton archers start to deteriorate. This can be discovered in the course of the threads.


THREAD STARTERS IN COMMENTS

Comments

[vengeance_driven]

[Only he doesn't actually expect Boone to come back, so he ends up hugging a little hard and holds onto it a beat too long. But he lets him go.]

Yes, he might. [But he doesn't intend to try.] I can help carry your things back to the transport. You will need more hands since this one got friendly. [He thumbs at the smug looking black cat.]

[thumbsdown]

[He notes the way Niko hugs him, and gets the idea that maybe he thinks he isn't coming back after all. Or maybe he thinks he'll be gone for a long time, and who knows? Boone doesn't know when he'll be invited back.]

Thanks.

[He looks around the room- there are still a bunch of things that need to be packed, so he won't be heading anywhere just yet.]

If you're not going back home, what're you gonna do?

[vengeance_driven]

Same thing I have been doing. I am still good at the ruins, so that's what I'll do. I'll buy some new armor to wear. They still need people to help them figure out these spawners and I guess I can help find them.

[He's at least given this a little bit of thought, even if not more than a bland sort of planning. "Find something you do well and keep doing it," basically being the core idea.]

[thumbsdown]

Yeah, I guess.

[What would he do if he stayed? Patrol the fence? Would those skeletons still be out there? Between those and the creepers, this place got quite a bit more dangerous since he arrived. How will it be when he returns?]

You'll be careful, right?

[vengeance_driven]

I'm always careful. [He says, even though he's really not. But as many risks as he takes, he usually does pull through alright. He sits beside of Boone, settling his hands on his knees.]

[He wants to tell him that the dreams will be harder.]

[He's too shy of saying it. There are a lot of implications in those words that in his world would mean something a lot more questionable. So he just drums his fingers where they rest, making a noise like a snorting horse as he sighs.]

[thumbsdown]

[Boone has wondered about what Niko would do about his nightmares once he's gone. It's not so bad for Boone. He'll be in a familiar place again, and that can help sometimes. If he's having a particularly bad night he sometimes turns on the radio and listens to Mr New Vegas reel off the news. He couldn't do that here, but he found Niko instead. Admittedly, he's a little worried that once he goes back to sleeping alone all the time, his dreams will be worse anyway.]

What're you gonna do when you're not working?

[vengeance_driven]

Probably drink or try to learn to drive something else. I don't know. I don't really have a lot to do here. I tried to get Charon to do things, but I don't think he wants to since the lizard man spat on him. And I don't think the elves would trust me anymore since they followed me into a brothel when they were drunk.

Don't tell Lindir, though. He's not supposed to know.

What are you going to do when you go back?

[thumbsdown]

[He seems a little surprised. He thought Niko had a lot of friends here. Enough not to be bored with Boone gone, anyway.]

I won't tell him.

[He shrugs and looks at the pregnant cat lying on its side.]

...Not really sure. Could maybe get a job, but I'd only have to leave it again to come back here. I dunno. Don't really like sitting around the Lucky 38 doing nothing. At least here I could go out and patrol or head over your place.

[He thought he'd be happier to go home, but he realises he'll miss it here when he's home. He'll miss making his rounds at the fence with Rex, and he'll miss seeing Niko. He hasn't made friends like other people have, but it's all okay because he made one very good friend instead. He's happier with that, to be honest.]

[vengeance_driven]

[He tries not to be too hopeful upon hearing that. He likes having him around, but there's something Boone needs there.]

My door is always open to you.

[He'll say that. That sounds right, right? He hopes so.]

[thumbsdown]

[He grunts and watches the wall opposite for a while. He'd entertained the idea of staying earlier, but it wasn't just for Niko. It was just because he thought people might need him here, as part of security, since the skeletons became a nuisance. He had thought of Niko, of course, but he'd assumed he'd be okay. Now he feels kind of guilty when he thinks of just leaving him behind here. He wants to see the others, sure, but... none of them ever got him like Niko does. Not even Elle. Besides, they were all going to move on eventually. Maybe they already are. Maybe he should, too... only, he doesn't like that idea much. He doesn't want to leave Vegas behind. It would be like leaving Carla behind. Maybe he can go back later? He's not ready to say goodbye to the Mojave for good.

He looks down at his hands, rubbing his thumb over his fingers idly.]

...I... guess I don't have to go. I mean, I'm part of security, right? Should be helping people here. And... I can always go back another time. Mojave isn't gonna go anywhere.

[It's only been a few months. If none of this spawner business was happening, he wouldn't have even been thinking of heading home yet.]

[vengeance_driven]

Yeah, there's still a lot to do. You can help a lot. There are still things for security to do even if ah... Is a little odd now with the quarantine.

I guess there goes my ship idea if they don't lift it.

[But he's still looking not as glum at the idea that Boone might stick around with him, at least for a little while. The fat cat stretches herself out a little further and he pets her again, his ruddy, gloved hand looking a little funny against her dainty whiteness.] So maybe I don't have to wait so long for you to come back.

[thumbsdown]

Yeah.

[He looks around and sighs.]

Well... at least I won't have to pack anymore.

[It's a relief, actually. He doesn't have much, but still. He's only packed a few clothes away, and Rex is lying beside that bag asleep on the bed. He sits beside Niko again and watches him pet the pregnant cat.]

How many do you think she'll have?

[vengeance_driven]

Just one. These cats work by having one, growing it big before they have another one. [The cat rolls onto her back so she can get more pets, appreciating all of the affection.]

I'm still confused as to how the boy and girl things works. I just know they're both and this time he did the he part. [He nods towards Boone's black cat thing.]

If you're not leaving, I can take her back. I just didn't want her to be all alone for this. [As stupid as it sounds, as she seems perfectly content.]

[thumbsdown]

You can leave her here if you want. Whatever you think is best for her.

[The black cat decides to jump down at that point, ignoring both Boone and Niko and hopping up on the couch by Niko's cat. He gives Niko's hand the kind of look that says he's contemplating swiping at it, but then sits himself down in a sphinx-like position and gives the two of them a cool, unimpressed look.]

You probably shouldn't try petting him when he's like that. He'll let you know if he wants attention.

[Boone learned that the hard way.]

[vengeance_driven]

I don't know. Maybe the company will help. It's been a long time since I had to take care of a pregnant animal- I was still a boy.

I'm just petting her. See? She likes it. [He says that part to Boone's cat, letting his stretch out across the length of the mattress with her eyes blissfully half closed. All four of them. Strange as that still is. But she just looks happy mostly.]

[thumbsdown]

Maybe.

[He watches as the cat eyes Niko's hand again before turning away to look out across the rest of the room.]

Never looked after a pregnant animal before.

[He has experience with being ordered to find foods to satisfy cravings, but not much else. He doesn't think the cat is going to be sending him out for anything, at least.]

Shouldn't be too difficult, right?

[vengeance_driven]

It's not too hard. Feed it more. And then take it to the vet if it starts looking like it hurts. I think you would notice that.

[She definitely doesn't now, just sluggish and lazy, and finally she curls up and lays there. He stops petting because her back is up against the black cat now.]

[thumbsdown]

Yeah.

[He looks mildly uncomfortable for a moment, then decides to change the subject.]

So, uh. Did anyone figure out what that temple actually was yet?

[vengeance_driven]

No. They've not had much time to look into it. I don't think we found everything in there, so me and that Belloq guy must go back.

Did the armor help?

[thumbsdown]

Wore it when I was helping out with the skeletons. Pretty easy to move around in. Was expecting it to be heavier.

[It's still weird to talk about what happened out there. The closest thing he's fought to a skeleton is a feral ghoul, but even then he understands what's happened to them and why they're like that. Skeletons, though? How the hell are they even moving? Why do they all have bows and arrows? It's a complete mystery.]

Wonder who made it.

[vengeance_driven]

Crazy people.

[He says that without a second thought. He doesn't even miss a beat, really. Just "Crazy people."]

[But then he thinks more on it.]

I think they were scared of something. All of these temples, thy look like they are asking for help. Like when people are very religious when they're afraid things might hurt them.

It doesn't stop them from being hurt, but they hope something bigger than them can help.

[thumbsdown]

Maybe the armour would've been more useful to them if they wore it instead of putting it inside a chest.

[Or maybe not, considering what happened to them. It couldn't have been the only set of armour they made, but they've still disappeared.]

What else have you found in those temples? Any idea what they were scared of?

[vengeance_driven]

Sometimes old weapons. Swords. Machines. No guns. That picture was the first one I've seen- the one on the puzzle.

But other than this? No. [He shakes his head.] If that's real good armor, though, maybe something that didn't give a shit about armor.

[thumbsdown]

[Boone goes quiet for a few moments, looking thoughtful. He can't think of what might have happened here, though.]

What do you think that picture was? Never seen anything like it before... think they were making offerings to that thing?

[He can't see why else the most valuable chest contents would be underneath that picture. Sure, it acted as a puzzle, but they didn't have to use that picture just for that.]

[vengeance_driven]

I don't really know. I don't think that armor would have fit it. [That's a strange thing to say, but it doesn't seem like an offering.] Maybe is part of a story?