WISH YOU WERE HERE.

Tempted as she is to continue, the blatant honesty Eliana offers gives Celia pause, and she looks over the woman with scrutiny before rolling her arms, crossing her arms, and leaning back on her heels with something resembling defeat tensing her shoulders.

  “Look, Princess- I’m not about to take your boyfriend out and run about like vagrants, if that’s what you think. I’m not gonna hurt his damn feelings or treat him like shit.” If she were in a more giving mood, Celia might have added the fact that she wasn’t the cold, heartless bitch she pretended to be. Instead, she smirks just a little and raises a brow. “Besides, it would be much less fun that way. Being his friend means I get to rile you up any time we hang out, just ‘cuz you don’t like me. I’m not going to fuck that up.”

     “How sweet of you to do this for my sake, then, Celia,” she replies, her guard rising once more. Despite her words, though, some tension visibly leaves her body. For now, she believes her    ---   on both counts. The idea of Chris spending time with someone like Celia sets her blood boiling, but Eliana won’t step in or interfere. He’s had enough people controlling him to last a lifetime.  If Celia wants to take joy in her displeasure, so be it. As long as Chris is happy, she won’t dare complain.

   ‘No interest in hurting anyone’- but did synths count under that umbrella? This stranger could be with the Brotherhood or the Railroad, and Ona was uncertain which fate would be worse: to be destroyed or to be erased, like an old-world holotape, rewritten for the sake of a cause that cared not for the personhood of those they took under their wing…

    No, she didn’t plan to die in this moment, but if she were to perish, doing so for the sake of her kind seemed a noble way to go.

   “Averse as I am to the idea of dying, as I said, my reaction to you is based entirely on your intentions. What friend of yours would wait in the middle of Boston near raider territory for your arrival? Are you with the Brotherhood?” She tries not to let the note of disgust enter her tone at the thought, but it’s difficult, knowing just what they did to her kind… “If you intend to destroy the raiders, as I am, then I would gladly lend my services.” 

“The Brotherhood? No.” Like everyone else, Eliana watched the Prydwen arrive into the Commonwealth. And  ---  just like everyone else   ---  she was none too happy about it. “Believe me, you’d know if I was.” The Brotherhood of Steel didn’t exactly do recon. “Between the Power Armor and the insignia they plaster onto everything, it’s hard to miss them.”

At the mention of raiders, Eliana’s head cocked to the side. No one told her she would be heading for a raider nest. Not that it mattered. All manners of threats were to be expected when it came to reclaiming synths. “I honestly didn’t know there were raiders in the area. I’m not super familiar with the Commonwealth’s layout, yet.” 

short starter for @wandercr

“You sure I can’t get you another drink? You were out there a while, and I sure bet you’re burnin’ up, sweet pea. I got water and ice cold Nuka Cola.”

❛YA KNOW, YOUR LIPS are telling me one thing, but your body’s tellin’ me another story!❜

Now existed a terrible thought in his mind, and he couldn’t stop himself from acting upon it. Smirking, he kneels down, building a snowball between his gloved fingers. Then, almost immediately, he throws it toward Eliana.

❛F’you’re fine, a snowball fight won’t affect you, right?❜

Before she can think to react, the snowball smacks Eliana square in the chest. Her mouth gaping in shock, she hurriedly brushes off the snow before any more of it can slide down the front of her shirt. “Josh! What the hell?” she squeals, backing up, one hand held up to try and deflect any further projectiles.

      “That might be an understatement.” Vivian found the brotherhood downright monotonous at times with how scheduled and regimented everything was. While she loved having a plan, they kind of overdid it. Maybe she just wasn’t patriotic enough. Green eyes silently observe the other until the answer she was given earned a little brow furrow. “A vault? I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone from a vault before.” Now that was interesting…Of course, her ill fortunate could have likely been bred due to her own tendency to not ask prying questions…Usually. “Well, at least you brighten up the scenery a bit.”

a modest smile shows upon jesse’s face, and he nods his head.   “ yo, are you sure? that would be awesome, if you don’t mind. ”   he really doesn’t mind paying for assistance, but if she’s offering – well, it’s awfully kind of her to help show jesse around the massive ship of a city. people aren’t often so kind without even knowing him.

“ i was actually lookin’ for a good place to find stimpaks, since i’m runnin’ low on them, if you know any good places to grab them. ”   as he speaks, his eyes unintentionally wander to the device on the woman’s wrist, brows raising out of curiosity. was that a pip-boy? those things are rare, and to jesse’s knowledge, something that can only be found in a vault. not that it matters much, but jesse admittedly hasn’t ever met someone from a vault before! how intriguing!

finding focus, jesse once again meets the stranger’s gaze, flashing her an amiable smile.   “ my name’s jesse, by the way. what, uh… what can i call you, miss–? ”

Stimpacks. Well, everyone needs that at some point or another, but Rivet City tends to charge a bit more for them than Eliana would like. “It’s no problem, seriously. I’m not very busy at the moment, anyway.” If the Brotherhood won’t train her for real, she might as well help elsewhere.

“Oh, I’m Eliana. It’s nice to meet you, Jesse.” For the first time in awhile, that overused phrase doesn’t feel so hollow when it leaves her lips. He seems nice, and not in the disingenuous way that she’s become used to.  “I’m sure you could find some Stimpacks down in the Marketplace, but I think I could get you a better deal on them elsewhere. Everything’s a bit overpriced on this rusty old tub.”

   “Sounds like it.” Small smile pulling at the corners of her, hands smoothing out against her. “I don’t know. Being safe’s the most important thing. Would hate to think that someone’s out there dead just because I ran prices too high, or something.” And maybe that’s exactly why she should. If living was the most important thing, surely people would give anything for it? Still. People dying inadvertently from their own actions – that she could understand, but specifically because of something she’d imposed, done wrong? “And if I wanted to stay up all night, I’ve got more than enough fodder for that, anyway.” A pause for a moment, dark eyes looking up. “This mean we’re hired?” 

     “I know what you mean,” she says, punctuating the statement with a bitter laugh. Eliana doesn’t regret much of what she’s done out in the Capital Wasteland. She doesn’t kill without good reason, but some nights, her mind couldn’t care less about her rationale. She smiles at Neoma, then, giving her an approving nod. “Yeah, you’re hired.”