Author's Note:

Sorry for this coming out a day or two late. Life has been pretty hectic lately. Unfortunately, due to this hectic schedule, I'm going to have to hold off on going weekly with the story again for a while. My apologies.

Instead, I'll be sticking to a monthly upload schedule for now until things clear up, then I will resume the weekly schedule. So expect an update on the 9th of every month.

Thank you for your patience.

"Text"

"Speech"

Disclaimer: I do not own Fallout, RWBY, or any associated characters.

Remnants of a Courier

Arc 4: Chaos Theory

Chapter 32: Peace Walker

Barking was the noise to awaken Six as he opened his eyes. He didn't realize he was tired enough to actually needed sleep. Well, better now than never he supposed.

The Courier stifled a yawn as he rolled over before sitting up and placing his feet on the floor. Time to get dressed and see if Carmine was already playing with the pup or not. Judging from the incessant barking he assumed so.

The lengthy process of wrapping bandages around his head and arms wasn't a bother for Six. It was more of a morning ritual nowadays that helped get his head together for the day. Besides, as the Burned Man once said, "it is better to be clean than comfortable."

His morning routine consisted of general bathroom chores, getting dressed, checking on his many less-than-legal projects, and preparing himself to watch over Carmine for the day. Once all was said and done, Six stepped out of his room and made his way down the hall.

Carmine was laying on the ground—stomach first—her hands scratching the pup's stomach as it lay on its back. The dog in turn kicked his leg incessantly, clearly enjoying the affection.

"I see you two are getting along just fine," Six commented as he stepped into the room. His eyes roamed over Carmine and to the couch that Richter was sitting on. A couple of empty plates lay on the coffee table in front of the older man.

"Yep! Oh, I wanted to ask." The red-haired girl turned her attention away from the puppy for just a moment to ask, "what's his name?" This small distraction earned an annoyed look from the dog as its head turned towards her.

The child went back to scratching the pup's stomach as Six replied, "doesn't have one yet. That's something you get to decide, him being your pet and all."

Carmine's scratching slowed as she registered Joshua's words. After a few moments she replied, "I'll think on it…" It looked like she was taking naming the pup seriously.

"Well, think on it while you get some warmer clothes on, we've got a lot to do today on the itinerary, I'll take the little guy for a quick walk while you do that and then we'll leave."

Six's words seemed to spur her into action as Carmine jumped up from her prone position and ran up to him. "Where are we going?"

"I'll tell you once we're leaving," Six said with a smirk under his bandages. Carmine gave Joshua her signature pout as he moved over and picked the pup up. "Be right back."

The Courier gave one quick nod towards Richter in greeting who seemed to be enjoying the show before heading towards the door. The puppy squirmed in his grasp but a quick look from Six and it ceased said movements.

Six had that kind of effect on animals. Some would say it was his natural Terrifying Presence that scared them into submission; others would say he was just good with animals, to the point of being just a general Animal Friend to most creatures. The Courier knew it was both.

The walk had been uneventful, with his natural ability to reign in animals, he didn't even need a collar. It stayed nearby simply because he told it to do so. Even if it did think about getting away, his compass and perception were more than enough to keep tabs on it.

It sniffed, peed, pooped, and generally did puppy things. Six supposed that it was kind of cute when it wasn't doing the latter two options.

Joshua did his best not to look straight at the dog for too long anyway. Its breed and general appearance reminded him of another dog he traveled with once upon a time. He had too many things to do and getting bogged down with memories right now wouldn't do him any good.

Upon Six's return, he opened the door to let the puppy in first, who darted in without complaint before immediately running to the young girl standing in the room and jumping at her.

"Down," the former ruler of Vegas commanded in a tone that was probably harsher than it needed to be and the pup obeyed near instantly. Again, Carmine gave another pout.

"Don't be so mean to Chryse," the young girl protested while patting the top of the dog's head. "He's a good dog, right Chryse?" Carmine punctuated her words by picking up the young dog and nuzzling his nose with hers.

Chryse, it was a strange name. Why did she… Then it clicked. He figured that the name was probably some shortened version of chrysanthemum, the flower that she had gifted him. The girl had a mild obsession; though with the flower's relation to the girl's mother… Best not to think about it.

"Oh, you'll be happy to know I kept that flower you gave me before leaving Rhyt. Got it sprayed in some… Preservatives so that I can keep it on me at all times." Six held in a chuckle at the way the girl beamed at him. She was so simple to please. "I keep it pinned on my uniform."

"Can I see it?"

"When we go to visit Beacon tomorrow, that was the soonest I could get us scheduled to visit." Six's answer seemed to satisfy the kid for now as she turned away.

Carmine was wearing all reds and greens, a sort of signature look for her given her hair and eyes. She wore a pair of red boots that led up to the jeans she was wearing. Six narrowed his eyes for a moment. It would be okay for today but she'd need some snow pants soon enough.

Then a green winter jacket that poofed outward covered whatever clothes she was wearing under it. It looked warm enough and she seemed to like it quite a bit. Above that were a red scarf and black beanie that she wore on her head.

Overall, she looked at least moderately warm enough to go out and have some fun. If not, well they'd be stopping by to get some clothes for her anyways.

Six's attention finally turned to Richter. The older gentleman was wearing something more relaxed. Jeans were accompanied by a red flannel shirt and over that was a grey overcoat. Overall, it gave the aura of someone who lived a humble life. In Six's opinion at least.

The Courier moved over to the door, hanging up his lighter jacket he had worn for the short walk and putting on a slightly heavier dark grey jacket. That with the jeans and bandages would be enough to keep him warm. After all, he wasn't quite human anymore.

Six led the four out the door and towards their first destination.

In hindsight, their current activity may have been a bit cruel for Richter.

The Courier was currently holding Carmine up by her arms as she tried to scoot along the ice. The girl didn't seem accustomed to her ice skates yet so this seemed to be the best solution for now.

Richter was at the side of the ice-skating rink; he was watching them and looking after the pup. A bit sad that he couldn't do this with his own kid. Though maybe sometime in the future…

Carmine's legs wobbled and Six increased his support by lifting with a bit more strength.

"Thanks," the girl muttered back to him as she steadied herself.

There weren't too many people surrounding the two as it was still relatively early in the morning. This helped to add to the natural beauty of the area. It was an outdoor ice rink structure more like a small park than a simple circle of ice.

A fairly large section—nearly a block—was cleared with a few trees being planted around the rink itself. During this time of year, lights of varying colors were adorned on the dormant trees. Six didn't really understand why the people of Vale did this but he supposed they looked pretty enough. Maybe that was the point? It was nearing Christmas after all.

Did people here celebrate Christmas? Hell, most people in the Wasteland didn't celebrate it either. His mother had taught him that the holiday existed when he was younger but even they didn't celebrate it.

"Say, Carmine, do you celebrate Christmas?" Six's question caused Carmine to slow down before turning her head to him.

The girl cocked an eyebrow before responding, "Christmas? What's that?"

A soft smile crossed Joshua's face as he answered, "just a local holiday in Vacuo, don't worry about it."

It was then Six thought of another day people usually celebrated. "When's your birthday?"

"It was about two months ago, why?" Carmine's answer turned his smile into a frown. That meant he had missed it. Still, he could make up for it now.

Six stopped, causing the young girl to stop with him. He rummaged around in his pocket, materializing a small wooden figure he had carved.

"Well consider this a belated birthday gift," Six said while handing over a wooden carving of Rex to her. "This was a companion I had for a long while once upon a time."

"He looks kind of weird?" There was a confused tone to her reply. Indeed, Six did add the more unique features of Rex to the carving. Including the robot parts.

"He does, doesn't he." Joshua's tone became somber for a moment before he perked back up again. "So, tell me, how old are you now?"

"Twelve," Carmine answered with pride in her voice as she turned to him. As soon as she turned, her balance wavered and Six was forced to grab her as she fell.

"Well, miss twelve-year-old, pay attention." Six waited for the inevitable…

There it was, the pout that could destroy a thousand airships with its raw attitude.

"How did you get so good at this anyway?" Carmine's question caused Six to recall how he practiced. Well, more like, when he practiced.

The night before the Courier left to fetch the Spring family, he went and bought ice skating shoes before spending hours practicing. It was fairly simple once one got the basics down. Though, it did take him an embarrassingly long time to get the basics down without a proper instructor. Not that he'd tell Carmine that.

"Practice." Joshua's answer caused the red-haired girl to furrow her brow. It didn't seem like she completely bought his simple story. It was true, he did practice, just at weird times because he was a busy man.

The two continued their game of ice skating with Six supporting Carmine pretty much the entire time. She was never quite ready or steady enough to skate on her own the entire time but the child seemed to enjoy it anyway.

More importantly, what Six noticed was that the awkward attitude she held towards the townsfolk of Rhyt didn't apply as much here. Sure, the girl turned shy whenever someone got too close to them but as long as they stayed their distance, she seemed to actually enjoy herself despite the people around her. An improvement hopefully.

Eventually, the kid grew tired and they made their way back over to Richter who was doing a good job of looking after Chryse. The pup was currently in his hand being babied and loved on. It was a bit of a surprise to see given the dog's usual energy levels but Chryse appeared to be dead asleep in the older man's arm.

Carmine's father adjusted his hand holding the dog into a more comfortable position as he asked, "I take it you enjoyed yourself Little Lake?"

In turn, the girl nodded her head with a wide grin. "I did, I learned how to skate on ice!"

Joshua held up his hand while standing behind Carmine and made a small waggling motion indicating she "sort of" learned how to. The red-head still had a long way to go before she was skating like a pro.

The older man's grin grew into a smile at that before he chuckled. "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself."

"And," Six interjected as he placed their ice skates into a bag. "If you're ready, we can go get you some new clothes."

Again, Carmine's face lit up with joy. It was the most he had ever seen her smile before. It was nice.

"I am!"

It was about time for lunch but they'd finish their current outing before heading anywhere else.

So far, the group had been to several stores in the area to buy several different sets of clothing. At Six's insistence, Carmine got more than just reds, greens, and jeans for clothing. Now her wardrobe would be a little less woodland. A good thing for girls her age.

Even after Carmine got her clothes, she wanted to continue exploring, going to store after store. This was the last shop they planned to stop at. A "Phantom Thrifts" that Six had stopped at with Adam on their mission together.

Both Richter and Joshua were currently sitting outside the dressing room and waiting for Carmine to return with her new outfit.

"You know, it doesn't sit right with me to let you go and spend all this Lien on us. We don't need all this…" Richter glanced down to the bags he was carrying. "Stuff."

In rebuttal, Six reminded the older gentleman that, "It's not a matter of Lien or "stuff" as you put it. It's about paying back a debt. You helped me when I needed it. Treated me right." Joshua glanced towards Richter before continuing, "now I am in a place where I can treat you right. So I will. That's all there is to it."

A silence descended over the two as Richter stared at Six, seemingly lost in thought. He opened his mouth, seemingly intent on saying something, before closing it and turning back to the door to the dressing room.

After a couple more minutes in silence, the door opened and Carmine stepped out in her new outfit.

Jeans, the usual. However, what was sort of different was her new jacket. She was wearing a dark green hoodie which in and of itself wasn't too far from the norm. However, as she turned her back to them, Six spotted a large white flower embroidered on the back of it. The way the seams were knitted into the fabric made it appear that the flower had many petal layers to it. All of this gave it the appearance of a white chrysanthemum flower.

It was somber in Six's opinion.

"It looks good Little Lake," Richter said, the smile on his face growing more strained.

"Let's get you some food now," Six cut in, doing his best to distract from the situation. "I think there's a food stand not too far from here."

Richter and Carmine were happily munching away on "Bun Grimms" as they called it. Six on the other hand was staring at his food as he followed along, Chryse at his side and staring up with puppy-dog eyes.

The thing… The "hot-dog-rip-off" as Six would call it, looked exactly like a hot dog except for two things. The bun was orange; bright orange in fact. Its texture was of an almost spongy consistency and the "dog" in the bun was a dark sickly green with small meat spikes on it.

What was wrong with this world?

The Courier broke off a piece of the "meat" and handed it to the puppy before dematerializing the rest of it away. He was all up for new foods. But his food shouldn't stab his mouth when he eats it.

It wasn't long until the trio came upon their last destination for the day. Home. He needed to check on a few things and get the Beacon trip for Carmine arranged.

Not only that but they had spent the entire morning out and about. He'd probably take them out to a fancy dinner later. For now, Richter needed time to breathe and relax his bad leg. Speaking of…

Six checked his Pip-Boy, double-checking the appointment for the older gentleman tomorrow. While Six and Carmine would be off at Beacon, Richter would be at a hospital for two things.

A prosthetic arm and surgery for Richter's leg. The best form of paying the Spring family back was to fix their problems. And Six had the Lien for it. He had already cleared it with Richter so all that was left was to surprise Carmine when they got back from Beacon.

Six glanced up from his Pip-Boy and towards the sky, the soft falling of the snow made the day peaceful.

"Are you coming Joshua?" Carmine asked, spurring the Courier from his thoughts.

Well, maybe some other things made their little walk peaceful as well.

Author's Notes:

This was a bit more of a lowkey feel-good chapter. Sorry if it wasn't super exciting.

Next chapter we'll be seeing some certain Huntresses in training. I hope you enjoy it!