"Blue! Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, Blue, BLUE!" Nora heard Piper screech.
The vault-dweller immediately sprang to her feet, running in the direction that she heard the shouts coming from.
"Help me! It's going to get me! I'm too young to die!" Nora sped up, removing her laser rifle from its holster as she grew closer to the source of the screaming. It was coming from the inside of one of the old Sanctuary Hills houses.
With a sudden burst, Nora sprung through the doorway, her rifle aimed and ready to blast at whatever awful creep was going to kill her best friend. However, as soon as she spotted Piper, she lowered the rifle and rolled her eyes with a huff.
"What are you doing?" Nora questioned, staring at the younger woman in front of her.
The reporter was currently perched on top of the counter and was clinging to a cabinet for support while fearfully staring down at the floor as if the most terrifying of beasts were down there waiting to gobble her up.
"Don't just stand there, it'll try to eat you too! Make good use of that blaster! Shoot it into next week!" Piper yelled, clinging tighter to the handle of the cabinet as she lifted one leg off the counter in pure terror.
Nora moved her gaze down to the miserable little creature on the ground. It was a poor, small hamster that had been completely stripped of hair save for several tufts barely clinging to its back.
With a glance in Piper's direction, Nora kneeled down and crawled carefully over to the animal in question.
"Come here, little buddy," the blue-clad woman gently spoke as she carefully but firmly scooped it up in her hands. It made no move to attack and seemed as harmless as it would have been before all the hazardous radiation.
Nora stood up, delicately cradling the hamster in her grasp. She looked at her best friend who was normally so calm and relaxed in such a petrified state. The brunette shook her head, watching Piper.
"So… I get the feeling you're scared of rats?" the vault-dweller questioned, raising an eyebrow as the beginnings of a smirk eased onto her face.
"Pssh, no. Of course not," Piper offendedly denied. Nora experimentally held the hamster out in Piper's direction, gauging the reporter's every move.
"Ah, gee, you need to, um-" Piper gulped, her eyes widening comically as Nora's outstretched hand drew closer, "put that thing down. Let it loose. Set it freeEEEEEK!" Piper squealed as Nora suddenly jabbed it in her direction. Nora cackled loudly, bringing the hamster back to her.
"Gah, Blue, that's not funny. Stop laughing! It could've torn me to shreds!" Piper proclaimed nigh hysterically as she clung onto the cabinets tighter than ever.
"Oh, come on, Piper, what could it do? Nibble your big toe off?" Nora asked, grinning widely as she gradually quieted her laughter. She strode over to the remnants of the little thing's cage and placed him gently in it, shutting the door on it gently.
"Well… Well, it's scary anyway," Piper defiantly proclaimed, huffing and lowering herself off of the counter. All the while she kept a close eye on the creature in the cage.
When she was finally on the floor, Nora shook her head with amusement.
She ambled over to Piper and patted the younger girl's cheek gently with a golden-tanned hand.
"It's okay. I completely respect and understand that you're afraid of them," Nora told her, putting her hands on Piper's shoulders. Piper smiled appreciatively and brought her hands up to cover her friend's.
"But you won't mind if I put you in charge of feeding Squeaks, will you?"
"Blue!"
"I know. Pushing my luck, got it."