@mojavecompanions - Tumblr Blog

Once Boone moved off get his gun, Veronica started for the bedroom. Her powerfist was- Arcade grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. The scribe gave him a very confused look, but stood still.

The sniper came back into the hall and went to the elevator.

"If she comes back, try to find out what’s going on."

He didn’t wait for an answer before he hit the button to close the doors.

Veronica just nodded as he left. Once the elevator door closed, she shot a look up at the doctor. "We should have gone with him, what if Layla got in trouble and he needs backup?" Arcade shook his head. "She came out of doctor Zorraquín's office. He handles STDs."

The scribe whipped her head back in Arcades's direction. "Are you telling me Layla got the clap?

"NO!" Arcade cried. "No no no, he also handles, uh, tests for pregnancies."

"So? What does... oh. OH! Holy shit!" Veronica slapped her hands over her mouth. "We should have gone with." "Do you want to be there when she tells Boone? I don't even know how that'd go."

Veronica turned a frown at the elevator doors. Eventually, she spoke again. "I hope for the Fiend's sake that she went to the Mojave Express, then."

Boone watched Veronica leave, then turned back to Arcade with a glare.

"You’re not telling me something…"

Arcade shook his head insistently. “I’m tell you what I know. She didn’t speak to me, and I wouldn’t be able to get it out of whatever doctor she’d been with anyway. We just need to find where she got to, I’m su-“ There was a ding, then Veronica stepped back out of the elevator. “Securitrons saw Layla leaving Freeside,” She said, crossing arms. “Bet you five caps she went off to see her little Fiendy buddy, or the Mojave Express.”

Boone was about to question Arcade further, but when he heard Veronica’s suggestion, he turned and went back into the bedroom to grab his rifle.

"I’m gonna find her."

Once Boone moved off get his gun, Veronica started for the bedroom. Her powerfist was- Arcade grabbed her shoulder and shook his head. The scribe gave him a very confused look, but stood still.

He looked back and forth between the two of them. Worry managed to creep into his voice.

"What was she doing at the clinic?"

"I don’t know," Arcade said, holding his hands up. "All I know is she was there, then she left before I could catch her." Veronica nodded at that, then walked off for the elevator. “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” Arcade glanced at the scribe as she left, then turned a sickly smile Boone’s way. “I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about. Well.. I’m not sure, but I don’t think she’s going to keel over in the next few hours.”

Boone watched Veronica leave, then turned back to Arcade with a glare.

"You’re not telling me something…"

#there wasn't much time inbetween but shhhhh #recon-sniper #arcade #veronica

Arcade shook his head insistently. "I'm tell you what I know. She didn't speak to me, and I wouldn't be able to get it out of whatever doctor she'd been with anyway. We just need to find where she got to, I'm su-" There was a ding, then Veronica stepped back out of the elevator. "Securitrons saw Layla leaving Freeside," She said, crossing arms. "Bet you five caps she went off to see her little Fiendy buddy, or the Mojave Express."

The sniper came out of the room and into the hallway.

"What’s going on, Gannon?"

"I uh…" the doctor sighed. "Layla was at Old Mormon Fort. I didn’t talk to her, but she came out of one of the tents looking upset and left. I’d hoped she’d come here, but she didn’t."

"Maybe she went to the Big Empty to fix whatever it was," Veronica said, coming from the bedroom. "She’s done that before."

"I… I’m not sure… about that," Arcade said awkwardly.

He looked back and forth between the two of them. Worry managed to creep into his voice.

"What was she doing at the clinic?"

"I don't know," Arcade said, holding his hands up. "All I know is she was there, then she left before I could catch her." Veronica nodded at that, then walked off for the elevator. "Hold on, I'll be right back." Arcade glanced at the scribe as she left, then turned a sickly smile Boone's way. "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Well.. I'm not sure, but I don't think she's going to keel over in the next few hours."

The doctor had really been hoping this wouldn’t happen. He tried to look casual as he responded. “Oh? Uh… Well I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Yeah.”

Boone recognized that tone. The doctor knew something he didn’t want to say.

"All right, what’s up? Where is she?"

"What? I don’t know. Where she is, that is. I don’t know, that’s why I was looking for her. She probably went to get something for dinner, she’s industrious like that." The doctor said in about one breath.

The sniper came out of the room and into the hallway.

"What’s going on, Gannon?"

"I uh..." the doctor sighed. "Layla was at Old Mormon Fort. I didn't talk to her, but she came out of one of the tents looking upset and left. I'd hoped she'd come here, but she didn't."

"Maybe she went to the Big Empty to fix whatever it was," Veronica said, coming from the bedroom. "She's done that before."

"I... I'm not sure... about that," Arcade said awkwardly.

The bedroom door opened, but it was Boone who answered.

"She’s not here. Not sure where she is."

The doctor had really been hoping this wouldn’t happen. He tried to look casual as he responded. “Oh? Uh… Well I’m sure she’ll be back soon. Yeah.”

Boone recognized that tone. The doctor knew something he didn’t want to say.

"All right, what’s up? Where is she?"

"What? I don't know. Where she is, that is. I don't know, that's why I was looking for her. She probably went to get something for dinner, she's industrious like that." The doctor said in about one breath.

#recon-sniper #arcade

Arcade didn’t wait for the elevator doors to open fully before he bounded through them to the Presidential Suite. He immediately zipped to the kitchen and found it empty. The doctor then checked the rec room and called into the bathroom, but both were empty. Peeking into the guest bedroom, he found Veronica flipping through a magazine, but not who he was looking for.

Suddenly realizing it was somewhat foolish to do anything else first, he knocked on the master bedroom.

"…Layla?"

The bedroom door opened, but it was Boone who answered.

"She’s not here. Not sure where she is."

The doctor had really been hoping this wouldn't happen. He tried to look casual as he responded. "Oh? Uh... Well I'm sure she'll be back soon. Yeah."

#recon-sniper #arcade

Arcade didn't wait for the elevator doors to open fully before he bounded through them to the Presidential Suite. He immediately zipped to the kitchen and found it empty. The doctor then checked the rec room and called into the bathroom, but both were empty. Peeking into the guest bedroom, he found Veronica flipping through a magazine, but not who he was looking for.

Suddenly realizing it was somewhat foolish to do anything else first, he knocked on the master bedroom.

"...Layla?"

#recon-sniper #arcade

*She nodded gravely, then stood* I… I’ll be back tomorrow. For the blood test. Thank you doctor.

ghoulocologist

[Tomasina gives her a just as serious nod.]

Aight. Take care, Miss Layla.

*She nods, then leaves the tent. For a moment, she just stands outside of it, staring into nothing. Eventually, she leaves Old Mormon Fort and starts in the opposite direction of the Strip, stone-faced.

Just as he's about to head home for the day, Arcade Gannon saw a poof of brown hair exit one of the other tents. The doctor was about to call out to the courier so they could walk home together, but then he caught her expression.

Confused, he looked at the tent she'd come out of. That was Zorraquin's tent. His head whipped back around to Layla, who looked like someone had just given her shocking news. By the time he'd managed to get his own jaw back up from dropping. Layla had already left the Fort. He ran out to the street, but found she was already gone.

...Uh oh.

#arcade #layla-granville

RP: Children Won't Listen

Gautier shuffled to a seat and pulled himself into it. The second the soup was in front of him he snatched up his spoon and began shoveling it hungrily into his mouth noisily. It didn’t take long before he’d cleaned his bowl and leaned back in his chair to look at everyone around him.

Nervousness bunched up in his stomach again and he frowned; he wasn’t used to eating around so many people, let alone feeling like the center of attention. He squirmed self-consciously in his seat and frowned.

Layla had noticed the uncomfortable look on Gautier’s face, and she could guess Isfet wasn’t very happy with the crowd in the room. Once everyone had soup, the courier settled into her own seat. Instead of letting the conversation or focus stay on either of their guests, the courier decided to steer things elsewhere.

"Arcade Gannon, I heard it through the grapevine that there’s a new tech at Old Mormon who’s in love with you."

"What?! No!” the doctor sputtered over his soup. “Where on earth did you hear that’?”

"Oh no, not another Francine," Veronica said, barely swallowing her mouthful of soup before laughing. "Oh god, do you remember the poems? The horrible, horrible poems."

"Claude is not in love with me,” Arcade insisted, starting to look flustered. “Not ever new person in town is in love with me!”

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville #veronica #cass #arcade

"You should take what you can get, Gannon," Cass spoke up, pointing a fork at the man. "Since half the town thinks you fu-" she glanced at Gautier. "... knows about your relationship with FISTO."

"I DIDN'T-" Arcade also glanced at the boy at the table. "No one thinks I... have a relationship with FISTO." The doctor was frowning as he stabbed his soup with his spoon. Then his face cleared and he looked up.

"Besides, I'm not the only one with an admirer; Layla's got one, too."

"What?!" the courier's head snapped up. "What are you talking about?"

"HA! That guy with the blue suit!" Veronica cried. "Oh my god I forgot about him."

"He thought I was an old girlfriend," Layla said pointedly.

"Oh please, that's the oldest trick in the book," Cass scoffed. "Don't pretend to be naive."

Layla merely glared at her, then at Arcade, who was spooning soup into his mouth with a satisfied smile.

RP: Children Won't Listen

Gautier flinched just a bit when Isfet pinched his arm and pulled it away to rub at it with a frown. “I don’t exactly got running water most of the time, ugh.”

He crinkled his nose and looked away awkwardly, ruffling the back of his hair with his good hand. Having his hat off in front of someone else felt weird, but it had been dirty enough that he hadn’t put it back on when he’d changed his clothes. He bit his lip.

"S’okay, kid, I don’t either. I’m just teasin’." The Fiend almost managed a cheeky grin, but missed the mark. As soon as his hands were clean, he promised himself he was going to ruffle that kid’s hair, but not right now.

"Now. My turn." Which frankly he didn’t much care for, but he’d rather just face a little cleaning than deal with anything else right now. Grabbing the vault suit warily, he gave Gautier one last concerned look, and headed into the bathtub’s stall.

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville #cass #veronica

"Isaac huh? I thought he'd be more of a Dennis," Veronica said as she poked at a scuff on the kitchen table.

"Why the hell Dennis?" Cass asked from her perch on half-tilted chair.

"It's not awful, but it's kind of lame? The kind of name you wouldn't mind leaving behind," the scribe answered with a shrug. She looked over at Layla. "How come you didn't know about it?"

RP: Children Won't Listen

Layla’s face had been working through a wall of emotions, amusement, worry, curiosity, that one face she made when she’d figured something out, and a bit of nausea. Eventually, she decided to address both main issues, one after another.

"Lily nearly killed you and your name is Isaac?”

Between the chems making him dizzy and the adrenaline starting to leave his system, Gautier’s mind was still hazy and his ability to pay attention to more than one thing at once was completely shot. Having so many voices at once trying to get his attention was just too much, so he snapped his focus firmly on Isfet and frowned at the panic on his face.

He didn’t think about what he was doing. He couldn’t think about what he was doing, not when he was tired and just wanted today to be over already. So Gautier didn’t really even register that he was making the gesture until his good hand had already reached up to clumsily pat the Fiend’s arm, or the words that immediately tumbled out of his mouth until he’d blurted them out, ”It’s okay. You didn’t know my real name either.”

Isfet’s eyes widened even further, as if he’d been caught red-handed and unarmed by a group of very-much-so armed bounty hunters. Then his expression faltered, like something had snapped, and instead of paling further, a red glow crept its way into his face. And he turned abruptly, looking at Gautier and pretending, trying to pretend, that he was the only other person in the room right now.

His mouth opened and he sucked in a breath, ready to tell Gautier to just go ahead and wash, because dammit there was a task at hand here, and for the love of god he could only manage one thing at a time right now!

But he paused before so much as a syllable could escape as the boy’s hand fell on him, and his words registered.

He was still red, in fact, redder than he’d been a moment ago, but the frantic, near-panicked look faded a bit. Instead, his brows furrowed almost sadly. That’s right. He didn’t really know, did he? There was a lot he didn’t know, and had never asked.

"…I just got the one. One real name." He frowned, then took the boy’s hand with his free one and gave it a squeeze before letting it go. "You can tell me yours if you want to, after you clean up," he muttered, trying to ignore the presence of the others in the room as best he could.

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville #cass #veronica #arcade

"Okay," Arcade said loudly. "Anyone who isn't planning on helping wash Isfet and... uh... the patient, disperse." That got a somewhat startled look out of Veronica, who left for the kitchen. Cass gave Isfet an obvious leer, just to get a rise out of him, then followed along.

Arcade turned to Layla, knowing she wouldn't have moved on. "Go on, all this confusion isn't going to get things done any sooner."

RP: Children Won't Listen

"What?!" Layla cried from the kitchen’s door. "Lily attacked you?!" She wandered closer, looking sick. But then the sick look vanished, "Wait, Isaac?! I WAS right!”

Gautier’s eyes flickered back and forth—from Cass, to Isfet, then back to Cass again. He furrowed his eyebrows together, his hazy mind taking a moment to catch up with what the redhead was saying.

"W…" He frowned, looking up at Isfet. "How many names do you got…?"

Somehow, Isfet’s eyes managed to widen even wider. And his skin managed to pale a bit more, too. He took a step back; whether it was to add a little distance between himself and Cass or to steady himself from toppling over wasn’t quite clear.

If he could hear his thoughts over the sudden thmp-thmp, thmp-thmp, thmp-thmp in his ears, maybe he could figure it out.

"Th…that’s not." He looked away from Cass, over to Layla. "Not…"

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville

Cass had glanced back at Layla, and the lazy grin on her face faded a bit. Shit, the courier was probably already a mess from the hurt kid, her pet Fiend getting messed up by Lily had been something she and Veronica had decided against mentioning.

She glanced Veronica's way and found the other woman already moving to Layla. "It's okay; Lily's meds got messed up and she uh... well she kinda went on a rampage. We found her before she could kill him. They're both fine," she held up her hands a bit, "I mean, you came in with Isfet, he was fine, right?"

Clearly by the woman's outburst, the attack wasn't such a big deal. Probably.

RP: Children Won't Listen

Gautier frowned, making his way to one of the tubs and turning on the water. He almost left it cold, hoping that it would take the haze out of his mind, but at the last minute decided he couldn’t pass up the luxury of using hot water.

He fumbled awkwardly with his shirt—pulling it off one-handed was harder than he thought. It kept catching in his hair. He swore under his breath and struggled to get it over his head without agitating the cut on his face.

When Cass walked in and shouted, his head whipped up more out of shock and instinct than in response to what she’d said. He drew in a deep breath, holding it for a moment as he determined this must be another of the courier’s friends. He blinked in confusion, tugging his shirt back down awkwardly as he tried to puzzle out what the hell she was talking about. He looked at Isfet in confusion, as if the fiend could provide an explanation.

"Wh…the hell’s an Isaac?"

The Fiend in question, of course, was not looking at Gautier. Or at Arcade, or Veronica, or anyone but the god-damned redhead who’d just entered the scene. He stared at her with big dinnerplate eyes, and all the color seemed to drain from his face.

"Y… th… ……….m-motherfuck—…”

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville #arcade #Veronica #cass

"An Isaac is a scrawny Fiend who doesn't know how to duck when a super mutant swings her fist," Cass continued as she sauntered up to the group by the bathroom. Glancing down at Gautier, she frowned at his bandages and cast for a moment, but her gaze flicked back up at Isfet. "Doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut when doctor's try to fix him, too." She added

Arcade nodded, "I'm aware of that. When did you two meet?" "He was Lily's last punching bag when she lost her meds," Veronica chimed in. "We rescued him; he owes us," she said smiling at the FIend deviously.

RP: Children Won't Listen

"I can…I can wash myself." Gautier squinted at the tubs, then back down at his injured arm again. He thought quietly for a moment and then nodded to himself. "I can do that."

He wasn’t really sure that was true, but he had taken care of himself through stuff that was almost as bad as this. Some things that were worse in some ways, truth be told. Figuring out how to take care of himself one-handed couldn’t be that hard. And eventually he would have to do so whether he was ready to or not—he couldn’t stay in here hiding away with others to take care of him forever, after all. That wasn’t how it worked.

Again, that dull ache bubbled up in his chest and he bit his lower lip. Part of him wanted to stay so very badly in that moment and let the tough decisions remain someone else’s for a little while longer, but even thinking how easy that would be gave him an awful pang of guilt and panic that nearly made him want to cry again because already he knew that he would have to leave.

It wasn’t safe here. Other people weren’t safe.

Oh it was like that doctor was finding the right words to intentionally fuck Isfet over…

"Whatever you say, kiddo, you know better’n me. Go on, you go first, I’ll stand by and wait." He gave him another little nudge, then turned at the appearance of what was presumably their temporary clothing.

His mouth curved down at the sight. Oh yes, of course, they’d get to play dress up now. How delightful. He couldn’t keep the sour wariness out of his expression if he wanted to.

"3 woulda made more sense at least." He nearly grumbled, then turned back to urge Gautier to just wash up, finally.

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville #arcade #cass

Arcade shrugged at him. "Little too on the nose for my tastes," his tone was flat. For all the doctor knew, Isfet may have had a hand in making these suits available. That thought was broken up with a "ding" from the elevator.

"What's this about a bloody kid coming up... Issac!" Rose of Sharon Cassidy all but bellowed the name. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

RP: Children Won't Listen

"How…how the hell does anyone walk around like this? ‘S stupid. Really stupid.” The comment he didn’t voice—specifically, how Isfet could walk around on the chems flooding Gautier’s system—didn’t even occur to him to add. Everything still felt unreal and hazy. If he’d been less focused on himself, he might have gone for the snide comment.

Then again, even if his head had been clear and his nerves hadn’t been shot he might not have.

Another dull ache bubbled in his chest that had nothing to do with his hand. Now that he was out of danger, he almost felt…calm. Or at least relieved. Something about that feeling gnawed at the back of his brain and almost set him on edge again.

Reaching the bathroom to clean up was almost a relief. He blinked, turning to take in the room. It had been a while since he’d visited Layla here and he remembered the tubs from his last visit. He frowned.

Isfet peered down and caught Gautier’s little frown. He wasn’t sure how to interpret it, and knew even less about how to address it.

"Don’t look so glum, kid," he said lightly, nudging Gautier’s good arm with his. "A little soap won’t hurt ya." He should talk.

Honestly, the Fiend wasn’t sure if Gautier would need help properly washing, with one hand pretty out of commission, as well as a good chunk of his mind for the moment. He didn’t exactly want to offer it, though, trying to avoid offending the often-indignant boy. That wasn’t exactly his place to try anyway, right? There was a doctor right there, after all. Isfet was just a raider who was in the right place at the right time. He should just step aside, let those more qualified stand in now.

Those with better influences, for that matter.

#RP: Children Won't Listen #yournewbestfiend #gautierthegreat #layla-granville #veronica #arcade

Arcade stood awkwardly at the door. "Well uh... I'm sure you two can handle the rest. Well, maybe you need to help him," he said to Isfet. "But otherwise... yeah." Veronica appeared a moment later and handed Arcade two bundles of cloth. "There you go! These should be pretty comfortable. I remembered we had a little one kicking around."

Arcade looked down at the blue and yellow cloth. A big yellow "11" stared back at him. He looked up at Isfet. "At least it's not 3."

RP: Children Won't Listen

Gautier frowned, finally dropping Isfet’s hand to pick nervously at the hem of his shirt. He chewed quietly on his lower lip, mumbling. “Nnngh…I don’t wanna. I’m not…”

"I still feel d-dizzy." He looked up at the fiend, furrowing his eyebrows together. "Am I going to be l…like this much longer? I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all."

When Arcade spoke up, he blinked and turned to listen. He’d almost forgotten there were other people there in the suite. Unconsciously, he reached out and took Isfet’s hand again as they followed Arcade.

Isfet almost missed the contact of the boy’s hand in his; worried as he’d been, it had almost given him some sort of direction even when he was sitting uselessly by as Gautier’s gotten the care he’d needed.

When he held onto him again, though, this time not out of panic, Isfet could only frown. Really, there were hands that were far better for him to be holding than his, in the grand scheme of things. Still, he wasn’t exactly going to make him let go, for reasons both selfish and otherwise.

"Nah, kid, you’re only gonna get less and less dizzy from here. Kinda like twirling around; everything’s real spinny and funny at first, but it wears off." Too quickly, he said silently to himself. "It’s harder when you first stand up anyway," he added as reassurance. "Let’s wash up, but getting some food in you should help."

Isfet looked up long enough to see Veronica peering at him, and quickly averted his eyes away. He only needed to keep his eyes down toward Arcade’s feet to figure out where they were being led…

Layla set about making the soup, reminding herself not to season things too strongly. She moved rapidly in her tasks, and it wasn’t until there was a load of vegetables simmering in the pot and she with nothing left to do but wait did tears finally blur her vision.

No no no, not now. After. Not now, they need you know… Biting her tongue, Layla forced herself to relax. Plates… and cups, she could set the table while she waited…