(no subject)

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

[Out of Milliways: The Republic of Dave.]

Ellen stomps through the door in her dark green fatigues, Dogmeat at her heels. An overwhelming smell of Brahmin and fertilizer- so, more Brahmin, really- is cut off as she closes the door behind her. "I really hope Elder Lyons knows what he's doing," she mutters. "Bar? Could I please get a bottle of Nuka-Cola and something that Bill Guarnere would approve of to eat? It's been kind of a long day."

Bar obliges with... well, Ellen's not sure what's going on, but there's noodles and there's what appear to be lumps of ground meat and there's.... okay, the red sauce is a little outside her experience. As is the white stuff dusted over the top. Smells good, though.

Once she figures out what she's supposed to do with her first dish of spaghetti and meatballs she'll probably notice that the Bar's also given her a small, heavy object wrapped in a note saying 'a gift from Corazon'. That, however, can wait. Food first.

She's botherable, so go right ahead and laugh at her total inability to handle spaghetti. These things happen.

Comments

[waco_jim]

A disheveled, odd-smelling man comes down from upstairs and slumps into the seat next to her. His clothes are ruffled and his breath smells vaguely of Skittles.

He groans. He probably can't handle spaghetti right now either.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Maybe not all that odd-smelling. Ellen's been to the saloon in Megaton plenty of times since coming to the surface. There's enough people in town who deal with hangovers by getting too drunk to care.

Although the Skittles part is a little weird. She doesn't recognize that at all.

"Are you all right, sir?" she asks after a bit, because... well, Vault manners don't really allow for what the dickens have you been eating, some kind of fruit scented soap?.

[waco_jim]

"Nope," he says. Obvious answer is obvious.

"Normally, I'd solve the problem with more booze. But I can't come back to the movie drunk. Bar serve anything that helps?"

He hasn't quite learned to keep his mouth shut with regards to the "m-word" yet. Especially when he's barely awake.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Ibuprofen usually goes a long way for severe headaches and residual bone pain," Ellen says after some thought. "Washing it down with electrolyte solution instead of water makes it easier, too. She won't sell Med-X, I don't think, but you don't want Med-X for a hangover anyway. You don't want to waste your time with the lesser painkillers either, though- just cut straight to the big ibuprofen pills and electrolyte drink or Nuka-Cola, that should be a start."

[waco_jim]

"Sounds like a plan." Jim turns to the bar. "Um...what she said."

A pair of pills and a glass bottle of cola appear on the bar. He opens the bottle and gulps them down.

"Thanks for the advice," he says. "My name's Jim. Won't blame you if you don't want to shake my hand right now. It's been places."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"You've still got your nose and all your skin," Ellen says, "at least as far as I can tell. I've seen worse. My name's Ellen."

[waco_jim]

"Yup," Jim says. "And I'm not on fire, either. All told, this isn't the worst I've been waking up in the morning. Still pretty shitty, though." He shakes his head and slaps himself a couple times.

"Skinless drunks common 'round your neck of the woods?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Well, Gob's not a drunk, but he runs the town saloon," Ellen says. "He's a ghoul, so he can't help looking like somebody made him out of raw Brahmin meat and left him in the sun too long. There's enough others around that you kind of get used to it after a while."

[waco_jim]

Jim massages his temples. It's starting to feel a little better. Only a little.

"Hmm. No ghouls where I'm from. Closest thing to a monster is Mongo."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Mongo?" Ellen repeats thoughtfully. "Huh. That's an interesting name. What's a Mongo?"

[waco_jim]

"What is the right question to be asking. He's a big guy. Well, he looks like a guy, anyway. Sometimes I'm not sure. Dumber than a room full of Dan Quayles. People anger him. Bullets annoy him. And right now the sheriff's trying to stop him."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen considers this.

"Green skin?" she asks after a bit. "Does he eat people?"

Hey, supermutants kinda look like guys. They're just... bigger. And green. And dressed in scraps of old cars and things.

[waco_jim]

"Nope, normal skin," he says. "Never seen him eat anyone, but I have heard stories."

[not_his_pa]

William's had a busy day out back and finds Ellen by the smell, it's a variation on what he lives with,

"Hey Ellen, did the blanket fit?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen looks up and smiles. "Hi, William," she says. "It sure did. It's spring back home, so Christmas here kind of caught me by surprise, but if you could use a good Bowie knife I've got one I thought you might like."

Bowie knife, Army issue trench knife with spikes on the handguard, potato, potahto.

[not_his_pa]

"My seasons seem to be matchin' up a good bit and you sure you woudln't need it,"
He knows his mother wouldn't be happy to see him with one as she thinks they look like you're asking for trouble, but he's eyed them a few times.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I've already got one," Ellen says. "Don't worry, you're welcome to it. I'll bring it down from upstairs if you can keep an eye on Dogmeat for me, okay?"

[not_his_pa]

"Course I can, thank you, Ellen."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen smiles and darts off. Dogmeat sits and cocks his head hopefully at William. Perhaps there is food?

...he's a dog. He's always going to do that.

[not_his_pa]

William laughs and gets a treat from Bar, "Here you are. You been good?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Of course he has. Ellen is still alive, isn't she?

But he'll wait patiently for that treat. He can wait. He's done it before.

[not_his_pa]

"Sit down for me," William's not sure if it'll work but he's going to try.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

There's food involved. For this, Dogmeat will sit.

Maybe not for long, but he'll sit.

[not_his_pa]

"Good boy, here you go," It's a nice treat, a good chunk of sausage.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

OM NOM NOM SCHLORF CHOMP.

You know how ordinary dogs will gobble their food like it's the last meat on Earth? Wasteland dogs are even faster about it.

Fortunately, Ellen comes downstairs before Dogmeat can finish the sausage. "Here you go," she says. "The one with the spiked knuckle guard turned out to be too dull for me to feel right about giving you. This one comes from... I don't know, it might've belonged to Talon Company once."