(no subject)

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

[Out of Milliways: From the scourging of the Enclave right back to the Wasteland crapola. Spoilers for Fallout 3 Broken Steel.]

The door opens, and Ellen winces. "Okay, I thought this was going to be the back door," she says. "Or the stables or-"

"Mm^MMooo^oooooo.^ooo."

"Sorry, sorry, I really am sorry, please don't mind the giant two headed cow..."

One young woman in recon armor, leading a two-headed cow the size of a Buick straight to the back door as fast as her two and its four legs will take them. Feel free to complain. That cow- those cows- oh, hell, Brahmin just aren't known for their hygiene.

Comments

[ikissdhimbck]

Well, that looks familiar.

Er, those — it?

Kate's up like a shot from her booth in the corner, and smiling wryly. She's well acquainted with the door's unpredictable nature.

"Can I help out?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Would you mind?" says Ellen, a bit hopelessly. "I just want to get her out back, and she keeps trying to investigate things! This is Shiphrah and Puah, by the way. Thelma and Louise and the rest of the herd are back home."

[ikissdhimbck]

"Not at all, Miss Ellen."

She smiles tightly and maneuvers around the new arrivals, laughing quietly.

"My Beaut still can't stand the sound'a hardwood under her hooves. Last time I had her out, there was an 'incident' with a wait rat."

She approaches Shiphrah and Puah cautiously, murmuring a warm hello.

"I think there's some treats still in my pockets, so long as y'don't mind?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The Brahmin lows again, and one head noses in Kate's direction. "Go ahead," Ellen says. "She's been pretty good so far today, so it won't do any harm."

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate's hand dips into the pocket of her duster, and comes out with a few green cubes. She holds both hands out — one for each head — and takes an affirmative step in the direction of the back door.

"Good girls. An' how've you been, Miss Ellen? An' Thelma and Louise?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

The cow immediately moves to follow. There's not much to a Brahmin's life, and new food is always an interesting diversion from it.

"I've been all right," Ellen says, coming along after. "Thelma and Louise, and Leo and Fawkes, have been doing pretty well in Megaton without me- I hired a few people to look after the Brahmin and tend to the green growing patch when I was off at war."

[ikissdhimbck]

Kate keeps moving, nice and slow, trying to avoid as many tables and patrons as possible while tempting the Brahmin toward the back door. She cuts her gaze to Ellen, first so she can smile at the update on the other cows, and then to fix her with a concerned look.

"How long's that been?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Um..." Ellen thinks. "I'm not sure. Longer on this side of the door than at home, though, that's for sure. A few weeks, I think."

[ikissdhimbck]

Her eyes sweep the young woman for any new or outstanding wounds, distracting her just long enough to almost step on a wait rat. It squeals at her in what is most certainly rat profanity, and she quickly sidesteps, gritting her teeth in contrition.

"My apologies."

The treats have been efficiently lipped up, so she quickly delves back into her pockets for some coin, and sets it on the wait rat's tray.

"So your world's still as topsy-turvy as it was last I saw you?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

There may be a new scar or two somewhere under the clothing, but for the most part, Ellen's looking about the way she did last time. Just... tired. Much more tired. At this rate, she's likely to actually earn that gray hair.

"Pretty much," she says, laying a hand on Shiphrah and Puah's flank. "But we've just won a major war against some people with strange ideas about what constitutes pure humans, and who has the right to live, so it... may be getting quieter. At least for a little while."

[ikissdhimbck]

By the time Kate turns forty almost all her hair will have silvered, and she still won't have half the good reasons for it that Ellen does. Compared to the stories she's heard, her Texas is practically sinless Eden.

She's digging out more treats for the girls while Ellen speaks, and the words hit her spine like drops of mercury — unbearably hot and cold all at once, making her skin twitch.

"Pure humans?"

Right to live?

She can't help how close to home that strikes.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The Enclave," Ellen says sourly, "claimed to be the remains of the United States government, and claimed to have a virus that would infect and kill anyone whose genes had changed too much from the way humans used to be, back before the Great War. They wanted to use my father's water purifier to spread the virus throughout the Wasteland."

( *TARGET ACQUIRED: Adams AFB Mobile Platform* )

There aren't many people in the world that Ellen has ever actually really wanted dead. She can't even really say that about the people of the Enclave. She can, however, say that she's a good deal happier now that they're gone- and that the world is probably a much better place without them in it.

[ikissdhimbck]

Hot. Definitely more hot than cold.

Kate bites her tongue, the curve of her jaw resembling alabaster from how hard her teeth are clenched. She takes a breath, and clucks at the Brahmin, offering fresh treats on the continued path to outside.

"Jesus. Can't imagine that sorta thing loose in my home. We got bigots aplenty wavin' around guns, threatenin' anyone whose skin is darker'n my own. But at least they're small-scale assholes."

[not-inkansas.livejournal.com]

Quaritch's morning run has come to a momentary halt as he determines the best way around the cattle-like things. Unfamiliar species that might or might not be prone to charging? Even Colonel Badass will be a hair careful...even when he sees someone familiar, who gets a nod.

"What are these?"

Yes, he's assuming she knows. He'd also like to know whose they are, too...but that's less important, he suspects.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, that's my cow," says Ellen, looking up with a smile. "Hi, Colonel. This is Shiphrah and Puah. I hope she hasn't caused any trouble."

[not-inkansas.livejournal.com]

Quaritch shakes his head. "No trouble at all...though I don't think I've ever seen a cow quite like..."

Her? It?

"...this. Is..."

It? They?

"...the cow friendly?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Reasonably so, yes," Ellen says. "Or pretty mellow, if she's not friendly. She was originally a pack animal for a mercenary company, so she's kind of used to being poked at and encountering strangers."

One of the heads pulls up a mouthful of grass and starts chewing. The other one just comes around to peer thoughtfully in the colonel's direction.

[not-inkansas.livejournal.com]

Quaritch still keeps his distance, but he visibly relaxes, less worried about a charge from the cow-like creature.

"Good to know. How did it end up with two heads?"

That is not your average cow, you know?

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"The whole species is like that," Ellen says. "It was a terrible shock when I met my first one, but apparently all the cows have two heads these days. And the bulls, too. The calvings aren't much fun, but they seem to manage."

[not-inkansas.livejournal.com]

That fact gets an acknowledgement. "And these are on Earth?"

This is the world that went through the nuclear war, right?

"How many new species do you have?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "Outside of what used to be Washington, DC," she says. "As far as different species go... there's the Brahmin, there's the giant ants, there's the bloatflies-" She indicates something about as long as her foot. "There's mole rats, which are about the size of my dog. Um, dogs are still pretty normal... There's Deathclaws, mostly up north. Mutant lizards. Yao guai are bears, but bigger and faster. And there's the mirelurks, those used to be crabs, they're man-sized now. There's some different plant species, but not a lot of them have adapted very well to the Wasteland so far, except in one valley up north. Sativa could tell you more about that, but she's from out West, not my side of the continent."

[not-inkansas.livejournal.com]

"That sounds just like Pandora." The species may be different, but the more she says the more it sounds like Pandora just invaded Earth...well, in some form.

"Then again, it also sounds like Washington didn't change that much."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Without the water," Ellen says. "We don't get nearly enough rain to keep up any serious plant growth. The animals make do with ground water and either survive the radiation or die."

"As far as Washington, though, it's a war zone and a pile of ruins. I've been in and out often enough to see."

[not-inkansas.livejournal.com]

Deadly animals running around? Ruins? Sounds like an improvement.

"Shame to hear that. And there are deserts on Pandora...just not anywhere near Hell's Gate."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. Then a thought strikes her, and she holds up one finger. "I have some photographs from home, upstairs," she says. "I got some film here that fit in a camera I found at home and took some pictures so I could show people what I was talking about. I can get them if you'd like."