#enduredparadise

He was teasing, which she took as a good thing. If felt well enough to be playful that was definitely an improvement on his state of mind. Another time she might have offered good natured quip in response, however the truth of it was that she had missed him quite a bit.

That had become something of a standard for her though, even before he’d walked away from the Gunners and gone into hiding from them. If he wasn’t around, she missed him. Current circumstances only made it a little sharper, though she could not say why exactly. Maybe simply the added worry. What if he was found? What if he decided it was all too much trouble and just decided to leave the commonwealth altogether?

Holly tried to shove all of that to the back of her mind, and managed a thin lipped smile and nodded a little.

Holly finished stomping the snow from her boots, and shaking off her coat and hat, then stepped inside. With the door closed firmly behind her, she began peeling out of all her winter layers.

The suggestion surprised her a little, and her eyes shifted briefly towards the window, looking out at the little park outside with it’s green, algae infested pond. She’d heard talk of the creature called Swan that was supposed to live out there somewhere. She’d not seen anything, but sometimes there were sounds. If he thought it was something to be worried about, he’d never said so. Maybe there was nothing to the talk at all.

Either way, she was unwilling to say no to Andy.

Somehow, Holly suspected that there was little hard thought put into the decision to leave Tidings so suddenly. It seemed more like a gut instinct. Even if she’d even upset at the time, she could not find it in her to blame him for it now. No matter how much she might have wished he would have come to her, she had not earned that trust and that hadn’t been what he had wanted. He’d been shaken and distraught at Louisa’s story, it was not unreasonable that he’d want space to try and sort it out for himself.

Had he not sounded so sad -- so resigned to the idea that this thing he wanted was not possible -- she might have teased him a little. Instead, Starling simply glanced at him thoughtfully, barely pausing in combing out her hair.

[Prompt]

Name: Sophia “Sophie” O’Rourke

Gender: Female

General Appearance: Long, strawberry blonde hair; dark blue eyes; smattering of freckles all across her body. Style is Mojave farmhand meets Wasteland scavver: flannels, worn denim, dusters, etc. Usually bears an expression of suspicious scrutiny upon any strangers she comes across.

Personality: Blunt, though not entirely impolite. Sophie doesn't mince words, but doesn't appreciate brutal honesty for brutality's sake. While she may not be the most trusting person, that doesn't stop her from offering a helping hand when possible - especially if it's donating supplies to those in need.

Special Talents: Knitting, sewing, bartering.

Who they like better: Holly.

Who they take after more: Holly.

Personal Headcanon: Sophie eventually takes over the family "corner store" in Concord when she's older, having helped run the place since she was damn near old enough to toddle around. It's through this trading post that she meets her eventual partner, and the two work together to convert the building next door into a motel of sorts for drifters and traders to stay in.

Faceclaim: Maren Lord

Holly had been trying to keep herself busy and distracted, otherwise she ended up thinking too much and creating new horrible ways that Andy may have gotten killed since leaving the settlement. After using her bedroom as little more than storage for months now, she'd started to sort through the things she'd squirrelled away in there, in the hopes of clearing it out.

When she heard the knock at the door, Holly found that she had inadvertently barricaded herself in. There was a jolt of anxiety, mingled with some desperate sense of hope, that maybe it was Andy at the door. A few moments of frantic, clumsy shuffling of boxes an and baskets, and she was hurrying to the door. Her heart sank for a moment when she saw that it was Olivia -- not that she was unhappy, but she had wanted every knock to be Andy and every time it wasn't she could not manage to hide her disappointment -- but then she smiled, and a sense of relief washed over her.

'I found him!'

The words practically echoed through in her ears, and Holly flung the door open, looking back and forth across the porch, certain that Olivia had brought him back with her. But he was not there. Olivia was alone, and Holly's heart sank again.