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Beginnings

A chilled breeze sought passage through a quiet, Utahan tunnel late one friday night. Peacefully it went, gliding over the scattered sleeping bags, resting brahmin and piles of munition as it continued it's course; but it did not escape without first enticing the sole campfire in the vicinity to a dance.

The breeze teased the fire without mercy, lulling the flames into a trance, bidding its motions with flirtatious desire until the transparent entity finally tired of its own game and vanished without a whisper - leaving the fire to recuperate at its own erratic pace.

There was only one lone figure that made up the audience for this fleeting but recurrent display of the fire's never ending lust, and she was preoccupied with polishing a receiver who's shine would never be deemed good enough in her eyes.

Eileen heard and felt the fire's protests at the wind's constant baiting while she obsessed over the condition of her old rifle. The pile of iron being the one and only thing in her life that has stuck with her thus far. A friend—nay, a child, that never outgrew its dependence on her.

This would only be the umpteenth time she has disassembled and reassembled the weapon within the span of a few days. And no Eileen didn't possess a fetish for cleanliness. There was a method to her madness.

Tomorrow the caravan she had been hired to protect was expected to reach a lost valley, one that had been the source of many ludicrous myths and legends. But there was one in particular that was causing the constant chaos of her thoughts and the restlessness of her heart.

Eileen recalled again the intoning words of Jed Masterson's campfire yarn; the one that revolved around a man whose very existence had inspired her to join the NCR, and who's following demise spurred her to abandon it. The last few lines of the possessive tale reverberated in her mind without rest: "Maybe it's just a coincidence, maybe the Malpais Legate is dead... or maybe, Joshua Graham did crawl out of that canyon. And found his way home...".

Despite the raucous fire that burned beside her Eileen shivered. She had been there for the Legion's failed assault on Hoover Dam, even had a hand in its collapse. She remembered very clearly the cheers of her brethren over the announcement of the Legion's first ever retreat, and at the news that came later of the Malpais' "baptism by fire" as it was justly called. The official reports stated that he had not survived, and she believed them full hardheartedly for a time... a time that was beginning to expire.

There were many things Eileen learned in her few years as an NCR Ranger. One of them being that official reports didn't always reflect the truth, and it wouldn't have surprised her if the NCR withheld certain facts to uphold morale among ranks.

With that said, was it even possible for someone to survive a fall into the Grand Canyon? Say the impact alone was abated by the water in the flowing river, what about the burn wounds? The lack of clothes, food or any tools that are a necessity for survival? The odds of someone surviving alone in those circumstances are one in a million - if not higher. So then, why did she continually worry herself with these facts?

In one word? History. Because Joshua Graham had long ago set in motion the events that carved Eileen into the character she has become. She held him solely responsible for the many losses she suffered in her life. And to hear that he might still be alive jarred her world off its axis, and left her for the first time in a long time, afraid.

The ex-Ranger hypnotically gazed at her fully assembled weapon, emotions raging through her much like the fire beside her. Never had she been so nervous in all her life, and the cause of her malaise was simply nothing more than a bunch of tribal legends.

Or at least, that's what she prayed they would turn out to be.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This fanfic is on hiatus until I wrap up some of my other projects. If this is something you would like to see finished, I would appreciate a like or pm so I know there is still an audience interested in seeing something like this.

Have an awesome day! :)