The mercenary awoke to Ellie sitting beside him in her cloth-nest, watching him with her head cocked to the side. He blinked, frowning a little bit before sitting up. He fixed his hat and raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled a little, wings twitching as she rested her chin on the side of the bed.
"… D-did you know you t-talk in your sleep?"
"… I do?"
"Y-yeah. It's m-mostly gibberish… but y-you do talk in y-your sleep."
MacCready shook his head, getting out of the bed and stretching his limbs. She smiled and stood up with him, a small pack on her shoulder. It seemed she was all set and prepped to go now, what else could she have done waiting for him to wake up? He patted her on the head in a fatherly sort of way, she was such a child. Maybe that was why he was still here and willing to help out... It was hard to say.
"… Uh, you know, I don't have night-vision… so, you're gonna have to lead us out like you led us in…" MacCready said after approaching the only way out of this place. Ellie giggled a little, shuffling over to stand in-front of the mercenary.
"I thought s-so. N-no-one can g-get in or o-out of this place without b-being able to s-see in the dark. That's w-why I like it h-here, it's s-safe and reliable," she shrugged and unlocked the door, taking his hand before shutting it and locking it.
"… What's it like being able to see in the dark anyway?" MacCready asked out of pure curiosity. She seemed to freeze for a moment before she decided to talk.
"… It's n-nothing special. Darkness j-just looks lighter t-to me a-a-and I can see. My e-eyes adjust to everything – light, dark… it h-helps."
MacCready nodded, assuming she was able to see him as they began to walk. He was glad to see the light of the on-coming day as they walked out of the cave mouth. Ellie rubbed her eyes, her iris seeming to act like a telescope, growing bigger and smaller to adjust to the light out of the dark. He released her hand and began to trek down the small hill that lead up to the cave mouth. He looked in the woman's direction, waiting for her to follow her. "Come on, Ellie. I don't have all day."
She looked down to him before her wings out-stretched and she flew down to him, her balance a little wobbly as she flapped her wings. She landed next to him and grabbed onto his arm. He frowned some, looking at her right wing.
"… What's, uh, up with your wing there, Ellie?"
"… I… h-hurt it as a kid. It h-hasn't healed p-properly. I-I can soar j-just fine b-but flying i-is trouble."
He sighed and nodded, "Maybe when we get to Sanctuary Hills, someone can look at it for you. I dunno how much we could do, but you looked… really hilarious flying like that; one wing going faster than the other. You looked pretty stupid, I mean that in a 'that's kinda cute' sort of way… not to make you feel dumb for something you can't control…" he scratched the back of his neck.
"I… hope you're r-right. I… I have gotten u-used to flying l-like t-t-this, but… it wo-would be nice to actually… fly right," she giggled.
They walked a good while since her cave was fairly far from Sanctuary Hills, and they were cautious to watch for Raiders, Super Mutants, and feral Ghouls all the same. Ellie was beginning to fall asleep as they walked, staggering and nearly tripping over her feet. MacCready frowned and set down his weapon. "Hey, come on, Ellie, we're half way there… don't go to sleep on me now."
"…S…sorry M-MacCready… I… I d-don't…" She nearly fell over, the mercenary quickly catching her before she fell all the way to the ground. He fell to his knees, holding her close. He frowned and looked around. He groaned before setting his gun down. She blinked.
"Come on… I'll carry you on my back," MacCready murmured, grabbing her arms and lacing them around his neck before trying to stand up. She let out a soft groan, not seeming ready to stand up yet. "Come on, Ellie. You want to get to Sanctuary or not? You can sleep then when we do." MacCready persuaded.
Ellie wrapped her legs around his waist, her head resting against the back of his neck as her wings flapped a few times to help get her adjusted. She was a lot heavier than she appeared; it was probably caused by her wings. Take them away from her skinny frame and she'd weight a ton less. He picked up his gun and carried it now, Ellie hugging him tighter than he would have thought. She could sleep for now; it was mid-day at this point and he could get her there by twilight. She really wasn't lying about her sleep schedule.
MacCready walked as fast as he could, leaning forward due to her weight and trying to keep her hanging onto him. He was trying to think what some of the others would think about him bringing this strange creature to the settlement, fairly certain a few would like it. But the one person he was concerned about was Danse. He knew he used to be a part of the Brotherhood of Steel, and they weren't exactly… the most caring towards things that weren't human. Even with him being a Synth, he still didn't seem to particularly enjoy being around non-human things still.
His estimated time was a bit off; it was around ten at night when they got to Sanctuary Hills, everyone still relatively seemed to be awake. Nate, the Sole Survivor of Vault 111, ran over but stopped half-way when he took notice of what was on his back.
"… MacCready, exactly what is that... thing?"
"… An old friend of mine."
Ellie yawned and rubbed her eyes with a pale, small hand. She released off of the mercenary before hiding behind him once taking notice of the male standing a few feet away. She grabbed onto his duster, burying her face into his back. MacCready sighed, simply fixing his hat.
"… I wanted to ask you if she could stay. I mean, you've taken all these other guys in – Ghouls, Synths… A Super Mutant…" MacCready began, scratching the back of his neck, "I figured whatever Ellie is wouldn't be that big of a deal."
Codsworth floated over once he saw the slight commotion, looking towards Nate, "Is everything alright, Sir?"
"Yeah, Codsworth. Everything's… fine. Alright, MacCready, bring her over if you can. We'll introduce her to everyone else. I'm sure she'll fit right in."
MacCready looked under his arm at the girl who was still holding onto his outfit, slightly peeking up at him. He smiled and reached back to unhook her hands so he was holding them as he slowly brought her over, she was a bit hesitant and extremely timid following him, her wings wrapping around her body to hide the best they could. The mercenary rolled his eyes playfully, chuckling a little at such a childish action. She really was like a shy little girl on the first day of school who didn't know how to interact with people. It was really kind of cute in a way.
Nate rounded everyone up, making sure they all got a chance to meet the new face and got to know her since she was going to be staying with them for a bit. MacCready was more than happy to introduce her to everyone.
"So, this is Ellie. She's an old friend of mine; we met when we were kids and… I recently found out where she was hiding out, decided why not bring her here?"
"Hope you don't mind me asking, MacCready," Hancock began, taking a close look at the female. She blinked and hid a little more behind the mercenary, "exactly what sort of creature is this little sweetheart supposed to be? I ain't ever seen anythin' like her before. And I've seen a lot of things."
"She's certainly unique. That's pretty clear to see," Nick Valentine threw in, arms crossing over his chest. Ellie blinked and came out of hiding only to approach the Synth. He smiled a little, "Hey there. You know, I actually know another Ellie: she helps me run my detective agency in Diamond City. Dunno if you've ever met her, but she's really nice. I think you and her would get along just fine."
MacCready blinked and looked at Ellie as she examined Nick to the best of her abilities, leaning over to answer Hancock's question, "… I… have no clue what she is, she hasn't told me and I dunno if she knows either-"
"She's called a Night Angel," Paladin Danse suddenly interrupted, clunking over in his Power Armor. MacCready got a little protective, quickly grabbing Ellie and hiding her behind him. While Danse was exiled from the Brotherhood of Steel, he still wasn't too nice towards things that weren't human and who knew what he was going to do.
"… A Night Angel?" Nate asked, looking to the other. Danse nodded.
"They originated from a place called New Vegas, dunno when they appeared or how, but it was probably some science gone wrong like with Super Mutants. There were these cult members that believed in this old religion from thousands of years ago that dubbed them Night Angels after seeing them fly across the sky with their different coloured wings. They only came out at night and slept all throughout the day. This cult believed that they were a sign that their 'Lord' was going to be arriving soon to judge them all since Angels were their Gods' Warrior's or something like that," Danse looked to Ellie, "…They've been extinct for forty or fifty years. Ellie's the first Night Angel I've ever seen before. She's also probably the last one."
"… What happened to them?" Preston threw out, curious about the matter.
Danse sighed before going on, "The Enclave began to think that these Night Angels were going to start thinking themselves superior to everyone else since they could fly, and that they were eventually going to try to enslave people and make them do their bidding. They were quickly eradicated by the Enclave with miniguns when they found out where they were 'nesting' in one of the Vaults. I'm going to guess that Ellie's family moved here before her entire race was destroyed."
Hancock narrowed his eyes and stood beside MacCready, arms folded over his chest, "If you think you're going to be making her species extinct by maybe telling one of your Enclave friends, Danse, just know you're going to have to get through me."
Danse blinked and shook his head, "Woah there, Ghoul, I never said anything about me wanting to kill her. I'm not with the Brotherhood anymore, let alone the Enclave, and I wouldn't dare try to kill her with you all standing here. After all, I haven't killed Nick here, or you," he glared at the Ghoul, causing Hancock to snarl back at him, thin lips curling. "Besides, I don't know exactly what the Brotherhood plans to do about her, if anything."
"This… would make one hell of a story." Piper suddenly chimed, grabbing hold of Ellie's hand and smiling at her, "I would love to get a one-on-one interview with you when you have the time! I think it would make a rather thrilling story! 'The last of her kind; A Night Angel's struggle'! I could see it making a whole mess of caps! "
"Piper, I don't think that'd be a good idea. If the Brotherhood figures out that there's a Night Angel roaming about, they'll want to either capture her or they'll try to kill her. I don't think we'd want that," Nick quickly interjected.
"And if they did try anything, the Minutemen would be more than happy to help defend her," Preston looked to Nick, giving him a small grin.
"She would be safer with the Institute; there is no chance that the Brotherhood could get in there in a large number to try an assassinate her," X6-88's soft voice sprang into the air, which surprised a few people that he would even suggest something at all.
"I don't think I'd risk having Ellie be there with the institute… God knows what they'd try to do to her," MacCready grumbled, "don't think she'd like the Institute making Synthetic Night Angels…"
"Jus' why do we even care wha' happens to this little brat with wings? She's as good as dead anyway," Cait hissed, causing Ellie to hide behind both Hancock and MacCready. "I'd say let 'em have 'er."
"Cait, don't be an ass- I mean... don't be rude. Especially to my friend," MacCready said.
Strong gave a laugh, "Strong would be more good at protecting small winged human. She safer with Strong by side."
"Err… no offense my big, mutated friend, but… I don't think I'd be able to trust you with her. She's pretty fragile and… probably... impressionable. If you get where I'm coming from..." MacCready gave a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his neck. Strong blinked, but didn't go on.
Ellie sighed and stepped in the middle of everyone around, "L-look, I d-don't n-need you g-guys to protect me. I… I just… need a place to stay. M-MacCready s-said that I could l-lay low here for a-a little and g-get some food, and… interact with p-people… I.. need to interact with p-people, I've been alone f-for a very long time since m-m-my parents... were killed..."
Hancock smiled and placed a caring hand on her shoulder, "You're more than welcome to stay here, Ellie. After all, I ain't letting a pretty girl like you get killed because some dudes in Power Armor think they can simply make a species extinct cause they can," Ellie smiled a little and brushed some white hair behind her ear.
"Hey, Curie… I gotta ask you something…" the mercenary walked over to the Miss Nanny robot. She looked to him and spoke in a rather upbeat voice which gave off the idea she was happy.
"Anything Monsieur MacCready, what is it?"
"You're good with wounds; I'd like you to look at Ellie's right wing. There's something wrong with it. Can I count on you to take a look?" MacCready asked, looking at the Night Angel as she got to know everyone, seeming a bit skittish still. At least she was interacting with them. She seemed to stay by Nick and Hancock, which he couldn't blame her. Those two were the easiest to get along with.
"Oh, of course! I will not let you down!" Curie began floating over to the group, waving a 'hand', "Madame Ellie! May I see you for a moment?" the Miss Nanny bot asked, causing Ellie to jump a little. "Monsieur MacCready would like me to look at your wing. Do you mind if I do?"
"O…Oh… not at all," she smiled a little bit at the robot, seeming a bit intrigued by her.
"Magnifique! Please, follow me, I will try my best with your wing," Curie seemed rather upbeat about helping her, which MacCready supposed was good. He sighed and removed his hat, running a hand through his dirty blonde hair before putting it back on. Danse walked over to him, looking down at him.
"… You didn't just so happen to stumble across her, did you?" he persecuted.
"I… couldn't tell the truth as to how I found her. If she knew I was sent to kill her I don't think she'd be willing to come back with me… I dunno who hired me to do that job, but I get the feeling it could have been one of your Brotherhood brothers."
"… It could have been. Are you planning on telling her?"
"No, I don't think I could do that. She wouldn't forgive me," MacCready looked to the ground, watching as Ellie entered a nearby house that was proclaimed the medical center. She waved at him before entering it with Curie; Hancock and Nick following close behind. Guess they either invited themselves or they were asked to help out since she seemed more at ease with them.
"I'll be honest. Ellie doesn't seem like a threat to me, I want to protect her just as much as you do as much as I probably don't seem like it."
"… That's surprising coming from someone like you, Danse." MacCready shook his head before he began walking over to the little medical center, leaving everyone else to do what they did. He picked a few Mutfruits that grew by the little home for Ellie and walked in. He'd be more than happy to help out with the little procedure, or just be there to talk and offer support to her.