By the time Willow gets to Goodneighbour, she is dragging her feet. Her eyelids are heavy and her legs feel as though they are about to give out. She has had to put down several ghouls and a few raiders in the city ruins on her way, and she wants nothing more than to hang her hat in the State House for at least a night. Or, rather, day, because by now it is early morning and the sun is ascending behind the buildings, casting long shadows into the streets.
The familiar scent of piss fills her nostrils as she steps into the settlement, and she sighs in relief. Goodneighbour is a bit of a dumpster fire of a town - but it is safe. It is home. For now.
She groans softly as she pulls herself to a bench. Daisy is putting out a sign in front of her general store. KL-E-0 is threatening a drifter who is trying to haggle her. People are shuffling by Willow as she sits on the bench, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head resting on top of them. They go about their days and do not notice when her eyes close, when she falls to the side and falls asleep on the bench. Because it is Goodneighbour, and this was the norm.
And Willow was no stranger to sleeping on the streets, anyway. She does it often, in fact; when the State House is crowded, and she doesn't want to pay for a room at the Rex, she finds herself a nice bench or nook in an alleyway and rests there. She isn't picky - she doesn't have that option. Again, it's one of the things she likes about Goodneighbour. Nobody really judges you here. You could be a hot mess of a human being - but you were still just that. Human.
Unless you were a synth, Willow supposes. But that's neither here nor there.
Hours pass as Willow sleeps. Daisy watches her from her shop – she likes Willow. Even though she has caught her stealing from her shop several times, she is still a sweet girl. She never treats her differently for being a ghoul, doesn't ask her about it – barely seems to even care. She talks to her about mundane things like their days, their adventures, her writing, Daisy's shop. And she doesn't pry about Daisy's life unless Daisy prompts her to.
So, she can forgive her for her occassional theft. Still, she thinks as she watches her sleep, even though they have exchanged many a conversation, Daisy feels as though she doesn't really know Willow. And she wonders if anyone does. The woman is certainly strange. She has a haunted look in her eyes, a face that doesn't quite look right, sometimes. Or, maybe, Daisy is seeing things in her old age. Maybe she is a perfectly ordinary young woman, with perfectly normal features. Maybe she doesn't sometimes look off into space and make faces or whisper to absolutely no one. Maybe... maybe.
She walks to the front of her shop and peaks into Kill or Be Killed, where KL-E-0 is working on nicely displaying a Fat Man behind her. She considers asking KL-E-0 if she knows anything about Willow but... she doesn't. Maybe Willow doesn't want to be known. And if that's the case, then it isn't Daisy's place to pry. She returns to her desk and leans on the counter, where she absentmindedly flips through a copy of Publick Occurences which has somehow made it all the way to Goodneighbour.
It is hours later when Willow is finally awoken, but it isn't by Daisy, or KL-E-0, but rather a woman her age, with ebony skin and long, pink dreadlocks. She hovers over Willow, her dyed hair pooling onto her coat.
"Willow... Willooooow..."
The woman's voice is velvety, and comes out almost sing-song. She reaches out and gently shakes Willow's shoulder, to which she responds by shooting her eyes open and yanking a switchblade from her pocket. She has it pointed at the woman's throat before she fully wakes up and realizes just who it is who has interrupted her nap.
"Shit, sorry Sadie." she murmurs, dropping the knife and groaning lowly.
Sadie is a friend of hers. Or, well, the closest thing to a friend that Willow has, anyway. The women had met years ago in the Wasteland, and they'd helped each other through several hairy battles. But they didn't make any sort of special effort to get to know each other any more deeply than what came naturally in conversation. Willow sits up, cracks her neck, and pats the bench beside her to offer Sadie a seat, which she takes.
"You been in town long?" Willow asks the question through a yawn, then starts rifling through one of the pockets on her oversized coat to find a cigarette as they speak.
Sadie shrugs. "Just a couple days. We're about to leave, though. Off for a looong walk." she replies, somehow sounding as though she's both dreading and looking forward to her upcoming journey. Willow's eyes flick up to Kill or Be Killed, where she spots Edwin, Sadie's... travelling companion? Father? ... Honestly, Willow doesn't really know the relationship between the moody, hulking ghoul and the kindhearted, friendly woman who sits beside her on the bench. And she's never cared to ask.
"Where are you going?" She lights her cigarette and takes a drag.
"The Capital. Eddy's got some business down there."
Sadie wrinkles her nose, and Willow giggles quietly. "That's... far. You seem excited."
"I'm excited to go somewhere I've never been before, but, like... agh. It's such a walk!" she whines. Willow laughs louder now.
"Don't be lazy."
"Yeah, yeah." Sadie bites her tongue and gives her a playful look, before her brows quirk and she nudges her. "And what's up with you? You look like... Aw, I'm sorry. But you look like hell."
It isn't hard to spot the dark circles beneath Willow's eyes, or the fresh cuts and scrapes and wet blood on her clothes. Willow frowns. "Just... Had a run-in with some Gunner assholes." she mutters.
Sadie raises an eyebrow. "Are you working down that list again?"
Willow is quiet a moment, then sighs. "Yeah." She can feel Sadie watching her with pity and concern, and it makes her squirm a bit where she sits. She pulls her bony knees to her chest and takes another drag of her smoke. "I know what you're gonna-"
"Willow, you can't-"
"'Do it alone,' yeah, I said I knew what you were gonna say." Willow groans, toes wiggling in her boots. "But I need to do this. So."
Sadie sighs, her eyes peeking over to Willow. She is gaunt, frail. By looking at her, it isn't hard to see that she is malnourished, scrappy. Plucky. Certainly not well-equipped to handle an entire batallion of Gunners by herself.
"Have you ever thought of... hired help?" Sadie asks cautiously, to which Willow replies with a scoff.
"I don't need help."
"Oh, yeah?" Sadie challenges, "Did you get your guy?"
Willow is quiet. She hears a giggle, and her eyes flick to the source of the sound. And there she is, the girl with the red hair. She is sitting on the ground a few feet from the bench, her legs crossed, wearing a smug smile. Willow narrows her eyes and quickly looks away from the child, but not at Sadie, either.
She shifts a bit where she sits, flicking cigarette ashes to the ground. "Maybe... You could help me?" she suggests hesitantly, her voice quiet, submissive. Sadie is an exceptional warrior. Dubbed 'Saber' by those who know her in the Wasteland, she wields dual swords and is a strong, formidable ally with an impeccable track record. Even though Willow feels weaker for asking for help, she supposes Sadie does have a point...
Sadie makes a small, pitiful sound in her throat, her own eyes flicking to Edwin now. "I don't know. You know mercenary work makes me uncomfortable." she says, which Willow finds ironic considering mercenary work is exactly what Edwin does. She supposes Sadie must mentally seperate herself from it somehow, but it doesn't change the fact that she basically works alongside him. "Besides," she continues before Willow can protest, "we're gonna be gone for a while."
"Wah-waaah." the child mocks, and Willow frowns, shooting a glare at her which Sadie notices. She doesn't say anything, though - she accepts this as one of Willow's many 'quirks'. She accepts that sometimes, Willow makes faces at empty spaces.
"But!" Sadie snaps her fingers, which gets Willow's attention again, "I hear there's a mercenary looking for work at the Third Rail. Maybe..."
"Nah." Willow shakes her head. "I'll be fine."
"I think you should consider it, Willow." Sadie says, and Willow shakes her head again.
"I have better things to spend my caps on."
Sadie watches Willow a moment, before she swivels to go through her own bag. She pulls out a few small stacks of caps, which she holds out to Willow. Willow eyeballs the caps for a moment, before she reaches out, her tired green eyes flicking up to Sadie in confusion.
"Take these, put them toward hiring someone." she offers. Suddenly, Willow feels very, very bad for the Stimpak that she deftly lifted from Sadie's pocket when her head was turned, which is now hiding beneath her ass. She takes the caps, rolling the neatly bundled stacks over in her hand.
"Sadie..." she begins, but Sadie laughs and shushes her.
"Or at least buy yourself a whole bunch of Stimpaks." she suggests playfully, but then she looks serious again. "Just... Take care of yourself, okay?"
Willow nods slowly and closes her hand around the caps, bony fingers squeezing tightly. "Thanks, Sadie." she says, and then suddenly a shadow is looming over the two of them. She looks up at the ghoul who is now blocking the sunlight. "Oh, hey Edwin." she greets. Edwin grunts in response - he has never been one for words.
Sadie snaps her fingers. "Hey, Eddy - who was that merc in the Third Rail?" she asks. Edwin narrows his foggy blue eyes, lip curling.
"MacCready?" he asks, and Sadie nods.
"Yeah, that's the one!" she says. "Is he any good?"
Edwin shuffles his feet, crosses his arms, then shrugs. "Don't know," he says, "Sure talks like he is."
Sadie laughs, as if the deadpan ghoul before them actually said something entertaining. "I think it could be worth a shot, Willow." she says, then nudges her friend. "Seriously."
Willow sighs and wrinkles her nose. "Okay, okay. I'll... I'll go... investigate." she chuckles half-heartedly, and Sadie smiles before she stands and stretches.
"Good. Please, do." she urges, then looks to Edwin. She shoves him, and Edwin moves but it is clearly done to humour Sadie, and not because her measly little shove actually moved the mountain of a man. "Ready to go?"
"Yep."
"Alright, coolio." Sadie is such a dork, Willow thinks, but it really is endearing. "Well... All the best, Willow. I'll come see you when we get back to the Commonwealth, okay?"
"Sounds good." Willow nods, looking up at them. "Be safe."
"You too." Sadie's words are genuine. But then, so were Willow's.
Willow watches the two as they head out. They make it a few meters, before Willow's brow furrows and she hastily grabs the Stimpak she had stowed away beneath her. "Sadie!" she calls out, jumping to her feet.
The two stop, but only Sadie turns around. She sees Willow standing there, holding a Stimpak, which she waves in the air a bit. "I think you dropped this!"
Sadie chuckles. "Oh. Keep it!" she replies, and Willow swallows.
"You... sure?"
"Yeah, what the hell! I got quite a few." Sadie laughs, then turns with a wave, leaving Willow standing there in the street, Stimpak in her hand, wondering just what the hell she was going to do next.