Snowflake in the Sand

Chapter 11

Winter had never gone to the cocktail lounge during her stay at the Lucky 38, her mind always preoccupied with something. But as her first day without a clear path started she realized just how little she had to do. So in order to keep her mind sharp she refused to stay in her room doing nothing. So she started to explore her new home from the ground up, there were many levels that did not interest her such as the indoor pool and the abandoned restaurant, but the museum and the casino where places that she explored very thoroughly. And now here she was, in the most prestigious place to drink and dine on the world (according to the museum that was all about House and his massive empire) and maybe House was not lying, the layers of dust could not hide the beauty of the place, she could almost picture the people here.

The view was not something she was prepared, the strip shone brightly and the voices of the people that walked on the streets reached her ears, New Vegas really was like nothing else it was almost comical to look beyond its walls. Outside of the walls that surrounded the city of vice and sin, dimly lit lights could be seen in the distance and she couldn't help but wonder what they were. Humble towns like Goodsprings and Primm or where they military outpost for the legion or NCR.

"Hell of a view huh" Six commented as he approached her, bottle of bear in hand.

"Yes, I thought you would be on the casinos for the rest of the night" Winter commented as she turned to look at six who by now was standing next to her. The courier shook his head as he downed half the bottle "Nah, the Ultra Lux gives me the creeps and Gomorrah is fine but not my style and I killed Benny, so even if the Tops doesn't hate me I will wait some time before I go back there" Six replied as he finished his bottle. Winter frowned at his dependence on substances but refrained from saying something, he said he always had a headache and that alcohol helped soothe it. But it will stop working sooner or later, but she really had no other alternative to help, so for now she could only look sadly as another bottle was opened and the look of pain slowly faded from the tipsy courier.

"I talked to the guy in charge of the expedition to Zion, his name is Jed. We have to travel light apparently, that's not going to be a problem for you I guess, you only carry a sword and a gun" Six commented with a small chuckle.

Winter tried to pinpoint Zion from the window and all she saw was a great darkness from that side, there was no light as far as the eye could see and the only mountains that she could see where devoid of life and looked incredibly unwelcoming. Frowning she wondered just what awaited for them in the land of Zion.

"Hey there lady I dunno why you hang around with that guy, but if you ever need it I am here to protect you, Ricky is all over this mission" Ricky said as Winter wrote him down on her list of insufferable assholes that she hated. But he only got second place, first place was still Qrow. Winter gave him a glare that would make her subordinaes cower away in fear but to Ricky that was just an invitation to brag more about his exploits, like the time he killed a Death Jaw.

Turning to Six for help she saw the Courier snickering under his breath at her, making her expression turn murderous. With a snap of her finger, she froze Ricky's mouth shut and accelerated her pace. Six laughed at that which earned him a frozen mouth (not that it stopped him from laughing).

Jed shook his head "Seems like you are already enjoying your trip to New Canaan, I have to admit I feel slightly safer knowing we have an ice mutant looking out for us" Winter turned to him with a raised eyebrow, she could not place it but there was something familiar about this man. His voicer reminded her of someone back in Atlas.

"Ice mutant?" Winter questioned Jed as she undid the ice, making Six let out a sigh of relief an Ricky a small yelp of fear. "You freak! What the fu…" Six placed his hand on Ricky's shoulder and glared and this time, Ricky got the hint "I… you know what nevermind, I have to do things on my PipBoy… WHICH WORKS BY THE WAY!" he said as he walked to the back of the line.

"Your friend filled us in, he can be a very persuasive man… if a bit odd but he has managed to survive so far, so I don't see any problem, maybe the people of New Canaan will like him for his quirks"

"New Canaan? I thought the place was called Zion" Winter said as Jed shook his head "The valley is named Zion, yes. But the town that we hope to reach is New Canaan, a land of spiritual beliefs and kind people if the rumor is to be believed… but then again if The Burned Man came from them not all of them can be peaceful"

"That name, I have heard it before, Caesar's Legion right?" Six said as she cached up to Winter and Jed, the old man gave a nod of his head as his face became more serious.

"You would be correct, he was Caesar's second in command and he led the first battle of hoover dam. There was no one as violent or savage as he in the entire Legion. No matter who you where, Legion or not you feared the name Joshua Graham, but the NCR shattered the Legion and Caesar did not take the loss lightly. To show that failure was not an option he covered the Malpais Legate, Joshua Graham, in pitch then set him on fire and then tossed into the Grand Canyon. That was his end but some say that he still lives and can be found in Zion, now you did not hear this from me but Caesar believes it too. He sends his assassins to hunt him down, but none come back"

Winter shuddered, the horrible pain of a small burn was something she wished on no one. Being covered in flame and then tossed inside a canyon was something she could not even imagine what Joshua felt… before he died. He was dead, Winter was certain of that. There was no human with aura nor Faunus that would have survived that, a normal man would have met an agonizing end. And with that Winter added another reason on her long list of things on why she hated the legion, if not even their second on command was safe then what hope could the common man have. Their future and dreams enslaved to their dictator who cared not if they lived or died.

"If he really lived then why would he go back to Zion, would his people really take him back after all he did for Caesar?" Six questioned, Jed shrugged his shoulders "Don't ask me I'm no scientist, all I have heard are rumors"

Winter felt annoyed for some reason, but said nothing as their long trek continued. The days seemed to pass in a blur, raiders where so few that Winter started to pay more attention for Fauna than them. Her routine consisted of carefully watching for any giant lizard of bug that came their way and then quietly eat her dinner by the campfire.

Just as she was doing right now, she preferred to sit alone and she felt that the other preferred it that way aswell. They had being wary of her ever since her little ice stunt, but she did not regret it. She was many thing but a liar was not one of thm, she faintly heard the sound of Six telling a story as the group busted out laughing and she could not control the smile that formed on her lips. He was good with words she would give him that, but Courier Six was also incredibly distant, he was just doing this because he felt that it was the best for the situation, if people where happy they would work more efficiently Winter knew that and Six did too.

So he kept them happy and they advanced faster towards their goal, they were even ahead of schedule thanks to their high spirits. Winter looked up at the moon that mocked her every night and wondered what was worse, a happy person that did not care of a stern person that loved too much. Did Weiss realized just how much she loved her? How many people had lied to her on her career with a smile and pat on the back? The moon ofcourse did not answer only made her remember that her answers would not come until she was home.

"You're brooding again" Six said as he poked her on the cheek, enjoying the way she jumped in fright. "If you something like that again I will have your hand Six!" Winter threatened as the Courier laughed. He sat down next to her and looked up to the sky as well "You know, I told a killer story about us. That time we got mugged by some grandmas on free-side and how they beat me up and all of that because of a sex bot"

Winter snorted "Please don't remember me that, I am barely staying sane as it is"

"Point is… worry that you might feel lonely, after all I am the one who invited you to tag along" Six said as her rubbed the back of his head, Winter smiled at him and placed a hand his shoulder "Why would I feel lonely? You refuse to stop pestering me"

"As wonderful as I am, I cant be the only person that you talk to you should try it. Who knows you might like it" Six said, but Winter simply let out a sad sigh and returned to stare a the moon. "I don't want to because… this world has no stability, everyone here, even you, are not safe from just dropping dead by whatever this cursed world throws. It could be the cruelty of someone else, or some giant irradiated monster none are safe and I need stability I need things be one hundred percent bulletproof. If its not it worries me, because if I can't control it or know its safe it just"-"Makes you anxious" Six finished for her, Winter gave a quiet nod as she brought her knees to her chest.

"My sister wanted to be a huntress; I knew it and supported her. I never told her how much it scared me; part of me wanted her to just stay behind a desk and take our company to new heights. But Weiss always hade that spark in her eyes, how could I tell her not to pursue her dreams when I did?"

Six hummed in agreement "I can't say I really know how you feel, but I know why you let your sister follow her dreams. You trust her, because you know that she can handle whatever life throws at her you let her go; in my humble opinion you need to do two things" Six said as he prepared o go to sleep.

"One, trust that I won't die on you because I am basically immortal at this point. Lady Luck's favorite" he said with a wink "And most important trust in yourself that you can handle the loss, if we are too afraid to care then why care at all"

Winter shook her head "I don't think I will Six I can't handle that. But I will put my trust in you, so you better not break your promise" she leaned her head on his shoulder and allowed herself a moment of peace enjoying the chilly breeze of the night. Maybe Six was right and the world was not as cruel, maybe it was just Vegas that was a violent and horrible place.

"MY PIPBOY DOESN'T EVEN WORK! WHY THE FUCK DID YOU HIRE ME!?" Ricky screamed as he was torn to pieces by a well-placed sniper shot. His blood and brain matter falling near Winter as she tried to pinpoint where the attacker where hiding. She turned to see Jed and the sheriff girl die and she let out a shaky sigh.

"Looks like we are all that remains" Six said as he threw a grenade blowing up two of their attackers so that he could take their weapons. Grinning as he pried a Riot shotgun from the dead hands of a tribal he proceeded to brutally execute the other warriors near him. Winter for her part had used her enhanced movement to jump towards the mountain and kill the snipers, freezing one in place while she used her sword to decapitate the first and then throwing the frozen one to the abyss bellow. She heard a loud bang as Six killed the last of the tribal warriors, grabbing a sniper for him Winter descended the mountain and jumped next to the courier.

"Welcome to Zion" Winter grumbled as she handed him a sniper, making him laugh "Hell of welcome" he said as he walked back towards the dead and looted everyone. Winter eyed in disbelief as Six looted he corpses of the people he had chatted so happily the night before, no expression on his face. Winer wondered if he was bottling his emotions, or he simply did not care. Once he was done he returned to her and handed her some grenades. "Just in case" the courier commented as he wondered where the hell they could go next. They could not go back from the way they came from so might as well start walking the courier thought.

They crossed the bridge in silence stopping only to admire the view in he middle "It's so beautiful" Six said as they stared at a land full of life, with rivers and trees as far as the eye could see. Winter had to agree, even if she was still a little shaken up by the attack just now. Her wariness turned out to be a blessing as she dragged Six out of the way of a bullet that was fired from the other side. Six groaned in disappointment "So much for admiring the view" he quietly grumbled as he prepared the sniper rifle.

But he didn't shoot, he simply stare making Winter tilt her head in confusion. As if he could read her thoughts Six turned to her "Looks like we have an ally on the other side, stay sharp he might not be so friendly"

What greeted them on the other side of the bridge was a tribal, this one with different marking and a surprised expression on his face "You're from the civilized lands! You're some kind of lucky, white legs don't leave survivors. Joshua will want to speak to you, he help you please follow me" he said making Winter and Six freeze in shock.

"When you mean Joshua, you mean…"

"Leader of the Dead Horses, Joshua Graham. He is like you, he is the only one that can help you" not noticing just how wary the two explorers had become, it seemed that no matter how far they walked the long shadow of Caesar followed, but as they had no other option Six motioned him to lead "Lead the way"

Winter's log: NCR and Legion

The NCR appear to be the major military force around here and in my opinion the best chance at civilization and a future for humanity on the wasteland. I know that Six disagrees but they are structured and don't really on a single person, they adapt and with appropriate leadership they could easily win the war. That is why is so frustrating to see them making rookie mistakes that would get anyone in Atlas fired or worse. They are stretched thin, they have no patrols and the ones they have are far too close to important locations, they need better scouts and more troops if they want to win the war. But they are too busy protecting things back in their main base, they pay mercenaries that could be spies (they hired us to kill one of their biggest threats and no one batted an eye that we were interfering on an affair that no civilian should know). Or that's what I have gathered from the few conversations I had with NCR and people that know of the NCR.

The Legion on the other hand are the ones that are going to win if the NCR doesn't get their act together, they are brutal and soon the entire force of the Legion will come crashing down on the gates of Vegas. I hate the legion, they are nothing more than a bunch of brutes following a megalomaniac that thinks that he knows best, it frightens me that he might know best. Does the wasteland really need this kind of rule to succeed? And what happens if Caesar dies? Even if his subordinates take control, can they keep all the land under their control like Caesar has? The Legion can win the war here but it will lose the battle to itself in the long run, the only thing I know is that we can't let the Legion win.

A/N: Sorry for disappearing, I downloaded New California and other mods. And you know how it goes. Honest Hearts begins, a very character focused DLC with one man at the center of it all. See you soon!