[closed] i'm feeling a fault line moving miles below my feet

[quixotically]

Who: elle days quixotically, maccready everycap, and piper exercisingmywrights
Setting: diamond city
Summary: sosu elle and companion arrive at the great green jewel. piper just wants to be let into her home. cue canon divergent shenanigans
Warnings: it's fallout yo
Other: [lyrics] [img src]

i'm feeling a fault line moving miles below my feet
no one else is looking down except for me
a chill is running, moving down my spine
i'm walking through the fire for the first time

when we were broken, we learned how to fix ourselves
out in the salmon foam all alone
i'll pass a breaker
slow down, slow down
we lay our shadows out on the ground

Comments

outside diamond city

[quixotically]

[Diamond City.

This is where Mama Murphy said Elle could find help for finding Shaun. And it isn't like Elle didn't believe her -- Mama Murphy called it "the Sight," but it made her immediately think of the Forecaster back at the 188. She won't pretend to know what it is or how it works, even after encountering it for a second time. But she knows better than to doubt it.

Forecast: A rain of blood will flood the desert and not purify it.

But whoever took Shaun was well-equipped. If they wanted to hurt Shaun, if they wanted to kill him after doing whatever it is they wanted him for... Then it would've been too late by the time Elle finally got out of the vault. She can't waste time, but she can't afford to rush in blind and unequipped, either. That was some kind of hazmat suit Elle's never seen before, and besides, the man who shot Riley... Even knowing nothing else about these people, the kind who can break into a vault and leave it sealed again -- There's no way she could go up against someone like that without supplies or allies.

So she left Vault 111 in late October, and now, after building up a reputation as a mercenary in Bunker Hill and helping the Cabots, it's late January. Boston's winter wasn't kind on Elle even before the war, and it's worse now, even with a nice coat from the Cabots and a good enough friend in MacCready they can comfortably huddle for warmth together with Dogmeat. Elle burrows a bit deeper into her scarf to protect her nose from the biting air as they pass by the statue in front of the stadium, her gloved hands shoved deep into her coat pockets.]



Oh, great, the gate's closed, [MacCready grumbles next to her, and then,] Aaand I bet that's why.

[Elle blinks at the woman arguing with the speaker up ahead.] What do you mean?

[He just gestures vaguely towards the scene unfolding in front of them. It'll speak for itself.

And... He isn't wrong. The woman in the red coat -- Piper, according to the guy on the other end -- is getting locked out of the city because of something she wrote. But before Elle can consider the implications of what that could mean, Piper notices them -- And calls MacCready by name, and ropes them into fast-talking the guard into opening the gate. And "fast" is definitely the word for it -- MacCready just seems amused by the whole thing, but Elle knows all too well what it feels like to get suckered into the middle of something.

Still, it gives her the opportunity to get some information from the mayor. Not much, though, and it's not like Elle expected a lot from him before she even gets the chance to ask. But she knows how to play it with someone like him: unthreatening, cooperative, and acknowledging his prestige. It works like a charm (much to MacCready's eyerolling), and she gets a concrete suggestion. Nick Valentine... A detective. And, on top of that -- Piper invites Elle to do an interview with her.]

Oh, sure, you'll give her an interview, [MacCready calls after Piper's retreating back with a grin, earning a confused blink from Elle.]

I... guess you know each other?

Kind of, [he admits, hooking a thumb on a belt loop.] Pretty sure most people in the Commonwealth read that paper of hers. We've talked a few times at the Rail. She's trouble, but the fun kind. When she isn't being too nosy, anyway.



[Diamond City is beautiful, but not in the same way that Vegas is beautiful. This isn't Pre-War glory glittering and thriving in the harsh heat of the desert -- Muddy from the recent snow, corrugated metal bolted together into new shacks, the warm smell of food, the calls of the merchants... This is Post-War bright and surviving in the peace they've carved out for themselves.

After taking a look around, selling off some of the scrap they've picked up on the way here, and getting a bite to eat from Power Noodles, Elle, MacCready, and Dogmeat make their way back towards the city entrance, headed for Publick Occurances.]



[Even though it's technically public, Elle knocks on the door as she opens it.] Piper? Are you here?

[exercisingmywrights]

Right here!

[ There's some shuffling to be heard upstairs, and after a few moments, Piper makes her way down, pen and paper in-hand. ]

Go on, grab a seat - that is, if you're ready for that interview, ah...

[ Piper sits down, folding her arms and fixing Elle with a stare like she's trying to peel back any loose layer she can get her nosy little hands on. She's been mulling over the rumors since they parted ways at the gate, trying to get pieces to fit together, but very little she has goes together directly, and it's frustrating. ]

...I've wanted an article to give the people of Diamond City an outside view of the commonwealth that's not just my experience, and you seem like you've got all manner of interesting hooks for it.

[quixotically]

[Oh, right. She got Piper's name because it was getting thrown around a lot, but Piper wouldn't have gotten the chance to get hers. So when Piper pauses, and gives her a look like a prospector might give a locked safe, Elle resists the urge to fidget and instead offers the first fact about herself while she shucks off her scarf and coat.] Elle. My name's Elle.

[... and she has to suppress her urge to give her last name. She's always introduced herself with both first and last, ever since she first learned what her name was in Primm. And it's not like she hasn't given her last name to people in the Commonwealth before, so it's out there, but... well. If anyone's gonna have paid attention to any rumors from the west, it's gonna be someone like Piper. And Elle doubts her actual name would've traveled this far -- more likely, it'll have been her title -- but... still.]

I mean... I guess you're right. I've been on the move ever since I got here -- to the Commonwealth, I mean. I've mostly stayed to the north, but... I don't mind helping how I can.

[exercisingmywrights]

[ Piper didn't have a concrete name - there was a short list of possibilities, coming from rumors and grapevine stories. Details tended to get a bit fuzzy, especially out in the kind of places that Elle seemed to gravitate toward helping out, where people leaned more on certain distractions to take the edge off of living in this world.

Finally having one, though, it gets added to the bottom of that list.

Elle's particular wording prompts a curious eyebrow raise, though. ]

Oh? That much of an outsider, huh? Not every day that someone shows up and starts sticking their neck out for people, especially when they're not from around here. [ She smiles, turning her pencil over a few times in her fingers. ] It's certainly appreciated, though.

[quixotically]

[MacCready's taken up a position leaning up against the wall near the door. Elle's perched, a bit awkwardly, on the couch, and she can't see him, but she still feels almost hyper-aware of his presence as Piper starts talking about helping people.

She tugs on her gloves, pulling them off finger by finger. Her eyes watch them, and she's careful not to speak too slowly.] I mean... There's been good money in it. I've really needed the supplies. So... It's not like I could afford to do all that for free.

[There are other things she could say here -- would, normally. That sometimes, it takes someone coming in from the outside to break the status quo. That she'd do it all without taking anything in return, if she could. But the first thing isn't something she wants to hint at having seen or experienced. And the second thing... isn't... practical, anyway. The only reason why she could get away with that for so long in the Mojave was because she had Mr. House backing her.

... she doesn't want to think about that any more.]

But, I... Like I mentioned at the gate, I'm -- There's someone missing... that I'm trying to find. And I know it isn't going to be easy, so that's why... I've had to focus on resources. I can't help them if I can't feed myself, or pay for ammo, or... if I don't have connections.