The Courier slowly turned to face the creature that'd just spoken, a chill running up and down his spine as he did. He was a bit surprised as he found himself looking into the chest of another demon, and Six had to step backwards as he craned his neck up to look at said demon face to face.
Said face was a pale grey, with a massive, yellow toothed smile and red-eyes adorning it. Atop the beings head sat two long, red ears, and a set of tiny, black deer antlers. On any other creature, Six might've called them cute, but the wastelander couldn't spare any goodwill to the being in front of him. Aside from the being's strange skin color, he wore a red pinstripe suit and black bow-tie. The suit faintly reminded the Courier of Benny. Six soon noted though that the demon hadn't moved or blinked the entire time he looked over him, and then realized that the deer creature must've been waiting for his response.
"Pip-Boy 3000." He said simply, and to the point, all warmness drained from his voice as his tone was icy.
"Why, that's quite interesting!" Said iciness was contrasted by the deer demon's cheery, grainy voice. "I've certainly never seen anything quite like it before! It almost reminds me of when I was still alive! They certainly don't make them like they used to!"
Six was actually used to the sound of old radios as he'd both listened to and fixed his fair share of them, but the sound of this demon's voice was… wrong. It was like talking to something truly otherworldly.
"Yeah… I'm guessing you died in the… 40s?" Six asked, his voice still cold.
"30s, actually!" Alastor said, his smile still wide.
"How?" Six instantly asked back, and he noticed that the deer's smile faintly twitched, just for a brief millisecond.
"Why, my dear fellow, it was… a simple miscalculation with a dog..." Said the demon, still trying to remain cheery.
"Right..." The Courier said. "Got a name?"
"Alastor! I'll assume you're new around here?" The demon, now known as Alastor answered, fully back to his unsettlingly happy tone.
"One could say that." Six responded.
"Well that's excellent! I always enjoy meeting new people!" Alastor said. "May I get your name, my dear fellow?"
"Courier Six of the Mojave Express." Said the Courier. His tone was almost like that of a stoic soldier who'd just been captured. Name, rank, service number, nothing else.
"Why, a mailman!" Alastor exclaimed in excitement. "Your attire seems rather unusual though!"
"Deliveries were… in a harsh landscape." Six explained.
"I'd say so! You're covered in muck! Though, I will say the red eyes are a nice touch." Complimented the demon, staring into the Courier's eyes. In response, Alastor merely got a nod of acknowledgement.
The two remained silent as they stared at each other, with the Courier feeling as if the demon was trying to find something behind the two red lenses that covered his eyes to outsiders. As the two continued to stare each other down, the Courier inconspicuously reached into his jacket, and grabbed his back up weapon, that being a 9mm pistol. However, said pistol wasn't just some run of the mill weapon. It was something… more.
While no one could see it, the 9mm was coated in ivory, and said ivory had various decorations along the slide. However, the most standout feature was the image of the Virgin Mary on the grip, though she ended up being covered by the Courier's hand as held on tight.
Holding Maria made the Courier feel… Safer? It was an odd sense of security, even if he didn't fear the demon in front of him, he had the feeling that he could actually make him hurt with the ivory coated pistol. He was about ready to draw the weapon, when Charlie gave an awkward sounding cough, making both the Courier and Alastor look towards her.
"Uhh… Alastor. Six here is going to be our new guest." She said, trying to change the subject. Alastor's smile very faintly grew upon hearing that, and Six finally let go of Maria, moving his hand back down to his side.
"Yeah. I figured this place could use more… guests." Six said slowly, now trying to regain the warmness that had been in his voice moments ago. "Maybe I could try to help them join. I've been told I… have a way with words."
"Oh, excellent! With a fellow like you, maybe things will get more interesting than they've been as of late!" Alastor commented.
"Yeah… Actually, what's a… thing like you doing in this place?" Six then decided to ask. "You don't seem too hellbent on redemption."
"Oh, well, this is merely for my amusement!" Alastor said. "I've grown bored of being one of the most powerful demons in Hell, and thought I might as well try something new!"
"So you're the top of the food chain in this place, huh?" Six asked.
"Oh, you flatter me!" Alastor responded, his smile never fading. "But I see myself as beyond such primal concepts!"
"Right… You ever wonder what would happen if someone went after you?" Six asked.
"I don't have to wonder! Used to it happened too often to count!" Alastor explained cheerfully, before chuckling. "Until people learned their lesson that is."
"What if someone else decided to take a shot at you though, and actually won? What would you do then?" Six asked, making Alastor continue to chuckle as the rest of the table actually seemed to get nervous, with even Angel Dust adjusting his collar.
"Why my dear friend, you are quite the hoot..." Alastor said, before leaning down. Six stood still as the tall, lanky demon soon got face to face with him, with the two being mere inches from each other at this point. "But I would never give such silly ideas a second of my time." Said the demon, his tone much less jovial, with said tone causing Niffty to squirm a tiny bit in her seat.
"I take it you're not a fan of personal space." Six said, not flinching, making Vaggie bite her lip nervously. "Regardless, in my opinion, it's always good to have a back up plan if you lose. You never know what could happen."
Alastor then straightened back up, returning to his position where he towered over the much smaller human. The deer then focused on the Courier's still revealed arms. He noted the skin tone, and the numerous scars, and the Courier could swear that the demon's smile got just a bit wider.
"You seem to have gone through quite a lot, haven't you? Are you a soldier?" Alastor asked, changing the topic.
"One could say that." Six said, rolling down his sleeves to cover his arms, before he pulled out his gloves and put them back on.
"How many men did you kill?" Alastor asked.
"Lost count. Probably in the triple digits." Six responded casually.
"Ohh… interesting." Alastor said, sounding pleased. "You must have some entertaining stories to tell."
"Yeah… though they've lost their humor for me." Courier Six replied.
"Oh do please do share! I love hearing new stories." Alastor said.
"I would but... I think I'll go ahead and take my leave now." Said the Courier, before walking over to Angel Dust, and grabbing him by the back of his shirt collar. "I'm sure Angel here wouldn't mind helping me, either!"
"Wh-what!?" Gagged the spider, before the Courier drug him out of the room, fighting against the white furred demon all the while.
"I don't mean to cut our chat short, but it is high time I actually put in some work around here." Six explained to Alastor, getting a nod.
"Oh, no, that's perfectly fine. As a matter of fact, I was about to go do some business of my own! After a brief discussion with my friends here!" Said the deer demon.
"Well, I guess our schedules work out then." Six nodded, before dragging Angel out of the room, and soon enough, he shoved the spider demon out of the front door, however, he himself didn't exit, as Alastor walked into the lobby, and called after him.
"Try not to get killed out there." Said the deer monster. "I know you've only got one shot, unlike all of us demons."
Alastor gave a knowing wink at the frozen Courier, before the demon turned around and took his leave. Six almost pulled out Maria there and then, before suddenly he remembered he had a spider he'd just thrown outside. He swallowed his rage and quickly left, finding Angel outside, rising to his feet.
"What the FUCK!" Screamed Angel Dust as he fully got up. "What in the hell was that!"
"I feel like if I stay around that freak for too long, something in me's going to snap!" The Courier growled back.
"That doesn't mean you have to drag me into this shit!" Angel countered.
"I wasn't lying." Claimed the Courier. "I did want to go around and check out the grubby underworld of this place, and I know you're familiar enough with it to lead me to something worthwhile."
"Next time you want to go fucking around just ask!" Angel still complained
"Sorry…. I will!" The Courier confirmed as he nodded apologetically, soothing the spider's annoyance.
Six then sighed, before taking a seat on a nearby curb. He then pulled out an old, beat up looking canteen… Well, canteen was a strong word. This object looked more like a metal whiskey flask, though sewn over it was a blue patch of fabric, along with '13' in yellow cloth.
"What the hell is that?" Angel asked, looking at Six as he pulled back his mask and began to chug, gulping down the whole canteen in a matter of moments. He gave a sigh of satisfaction as he wiped stray water from his lips and looked over the object in question.
"Oh, it's just my trusty Vault 13 canteen." He responded with a smile, before putting said canteen back into one of his many pouches.
"Why 13?" Asked the spider.
"Because long before my time, a man arose from Vault 13. From what I heard he kicked ass and took names. Completely obliterated two underground bases filled with Super Mutants, and single handedly started the NCR, which I… kinda used to sorta work for." Said the Courier, almost prideful to discuss the Wasteland's history.
"Huh..." Angel said, with mostly disinterest, though the Courier took this as actual engagement and due to his own desire to talk, he continued.
"Oh don't even get me started on his grandson. That motherfucker blew up an oil rig and put down the biggest son of a bitch in the Wasteland! Frank Horrigan was one tough-" The Courier was cut off, his excitement dying as he was.
"I really don't care." Angel huffed.
"Alright..." Six grunted in disappointment, before standing up. "Want to get going?"
"I guess, but you owe me dinner for that shit." Angel growled.
"The second I get some money, I'll take you to the finest restaurant in town. Might even buy you a dress." Six joked.
"Better be a damn fine dress." Angel growled, making Six chuckle.
"I'll get you the best one in Hell." The Courier confirmed as the two continued on down the street.