Vault Blue Eyes
Welcome everyone to another AU story of mine, this time featuring my friend Iron_Angel's OC Nora Morris-Delaney. I hope you folks enjoy the story!
I do not own Fallout 4, that belongs to Bethesda
Scarecrow had to admit, she was having quite a bit of fun, as a small smile graced her face. Most of her days had been spent at Far Harbor, healing radiation burns and Fog Sickness, after the Children of Atom had turned rogue and turned on the rest of the Harbor. The days had stretched into weeks as Scarecrow had busied herself with trying to save as many people as possible while dealing with the fact that people still died despite her best efforts.
All the burn marks and radiation burns, they just blurred together to Scarecrow. She honestly wasn't sure exactly how long she spent holed up in her house at Far Harbor before she finally got pulled out of there by Cait, the woman that Scarecrow loved with all of her heart and cared for so deeply.
And that's how Scarecrow currently found herself inside of a bar called the Third Rail in a town of Goodneighbor. The mousy-looking woman had to admit this wasn't exactly a place that she would've willingly gone to. It looked way too seedy to her liking. But the beer was cheap and the people left her alone, so she couldn't complain.
"Leave me alone, ya fuckin' bastard," a female voice shouted, fury lacing ever word, "before I decide ta peel what's left of your skin off with a knife!"
Scarecrow knew that tone of voice. Whipping her head around, she saw Cait half-crouched in the middle of the bar, her ripper out and threatening some ghoul in a red jacket and tricorn hat. And she knew that look in Cait's eyes. That was the look she got whenever she stepped into the Combat Zone, ready to crack someone's skull open.
Scarecrow quickly got up and rushed over to break things up; she really didn't wanna end up in jail or, worse, dead over some skirmish.
"Cait, what on Earth-?!" Scarecrow hissed, grabbing Cait's elbow.
The cage fighter whipped around, her green eyes blazing and fists up, before she saw who had grabbed her. Fear superseded rage for a heartbeat as Cait froze, then let out a shuddering breath and slowly shook her head before she answered her girlfriend's question.
"This fuckin' wagon was tryin' to offer me a hit of Jet, and I told 'im no," she explained. "But then he kept pushin' at it, and I got pissed."
"In my defense, the woman was looking stressed," the ghoul stated, raising his hands in surrender. "Was just trying to help her relax, is all."
"Shut the hell up," Scarecrow interrupted, tossing him a glare. "Whoever you are, you're treading on thin ice. I don't appreciate people offering my girlfriend chems."
"Well damn, you two have got some guts to you," the ghoul chuckled, a grin on his heavily scarred face. "I like it. Allow me to introduce myself: The name's Hancock, and I'm the mayor of this town."
"I don't care if you're the fuckin' Elder of the goddamn Brotherhood!" Cait growled. "Still woulda shanked ya!"
"What the hell's going on in here?" someone demanded.
The three plus several other onlookers turned towards the sound of the new voice as a woman entered the main room. A tense silence filled the air as the rest of the Third Rail patrons gave the newcomer a wide berth.
Definitely not a good sign, Scarecrow thought.
The woman looked out of place; oddly alien compared to the rest of the rabble. Long red hair and a thinning face, it was her eyes that had caught Scarecrow's attention. They were such a clear, jewel-like blue. Like the color of her Vault suit.
Wait a minute...a Vault suit?
Realization came crashing down upon Scarecrow like a super mutant fist: She knew who this woman was!
"Hey there, sunshine, no need to get pissed," Hancock stated, placing a placating hand on the woman's shoulder. "Just some crossed wires, is all."
"I just heard this woman threatening to peel you like a banana, John," the red-headed newcomer grumbled, shaking her head at him as she gestured toward Cait.
"What's a 'banana'?"
More words were exchanged, but they just washed over Scarecrow like waves. All she could focus on was this woman and the memories attached to her face. Of a blaring siren, of her friends and neighbors being frozen alive, of escaping that damn Vault into a world neither one of them knew.
And then the woman turned her gaze toward her. She did a double-take, those bright blue eyes widening with shock and realization as she slowly walked towards Scarecrow. "Holy shit..." she breathed.
"You took the words right out of my mouth," Scarecrow retorted.
Scarecrow looked around the State Room, anxiety flaring up within her stomach. Things had progressed way too fast; going from a casual night out in Goodneighbor to 'meeting' the mayor of the town and the mysterious other woman from Vault 111. It felt like butterflies were doing somersaults in her gut, and she wished the feeling would go away.
The Vault native nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt someone's hand reaching for her, their fingers intertwining with hers. That fear quickly dissipated as Scarecrow realized it was Cait. The cage fighter gave her lover a reassuring squeeze before the two turned around to face Hancock and the red-head.
"So…this is awkward," Hancock said quietly. "Tension here is so thick, you could cut it with a knife." He cleared his throat, turning to Scarecrow. "Let me break the ice here. Sorry I offered your girlfriend chems. Definitely was not a smart move on my part."
A scowl formed on Cait's face at Hancock's words, most likely already forming some creative and venomous insults to spew at the ghoul mayor. However one stern look from Scarecrow seemed to make her consider otherwise, and she offered only a grunt and a curt nod instead.
"I have to admit, I'm surprised to see you here," the other Vault dweller stated, eyebrow raised. "I honestly expected to never see you again after you pulled a runner on me."
"I got dragged out of a cryo chamber by a strange woman covered in blood and launched into a world gone to hell, only to be told that it was 200 years in the future and everyone I knew is dead!" Scarecrow snapped. "Excuse me for having a panic attack and running off!"
"Whoa! Hey, let's keep calm now," Hancock interrupted, stepping between the women. "No need to get all nasty toward one another. Let's all play nice."
"Why am I even here?" Scarecrow continued. "Because, to be blunt, I'm currently stuck in a strange town, talking to the mayor of the place while surrounded by all of his body guards and it's making me feel more than a little antsy right now."
"Honestly? I thought you had died, given how shell-shocked you looked the last time I saw you," the Vault dweller explained. "Imagine my surprise when I find you several months later, not only alive but also traveling with a woman who looks like she could whip anyone in the Commonwealth in a fist fight."
"Goes to show how much ya know then, lady," Cait laughed, giving her lover another squeeze. "She might not look it, but Scarecrow here is one tough bitch."
The woman brushed off Cait's comments like water off of a duck's back, before making her way over to Scarecrow and extending her hand. Scarecrow continued sitting on the torn couch, not moving, staring at the hand as if the other woman had lost her mind.
"I realize we haven't had a proper introduction," she said calmly, as if trying to pacify a spooked animal. "Please let me fix that. My name's Nora. Nora Morris-Delaney, General of the Minutemen."
Silence bordering on unbearable filled the room for a long moment before Scarecrow finally stood up and accepted Nora's hand. Although Scarecrow had to lift her head up slightly to meet Nora's gaze, the way she radiated calm, it felt like they were equals in that moment.
"I'm Dorothy Windham, but you can call me Scarecrow," Scarecrow stated. "Resident chemist and doctor of Far Harbor, and probably one of the best chemical experts in all of Massachusetts."
"Chemicals, you say?" Hancock grinned, suddenly very interested.
"Not drugs, Mayor Hancock. I deal with actual chemicals, as in the periodic table," Scarecrow explained, beginning to feel irritated at the ghoul again. "Though I also am skilled in crafting medicine and the like."
Now Nora looked interested, too. "Very useful skill set," Nora said with an approving nod and motioning for Scarecrow to sit again as she took a seat on the couch opposite. "I'd like to talk more about it. Maybe discuss a position in the Minutemen."
"Well then, this looks like this could be the start of a beautiful friendship," Hancock commented as he moved to grab glasses and a bottle of booze from his desk. "Or the beginning of a violent falling out. Either/or, really."
And Vault Blue Eyes is done and dusted. Massive huge thank you to Iron_Angel for allowing me to use her OC Nora Howard, she is an absolute gem of a human being and she just constantly makes me smile. Anyway, I hope you folks enjoyed the story!
Love,
The Desert Dancer