Chapter 3: Ain't That A Kick In The Head? (III)
The Courier had never seen so much green since his misadventures in Vault 22 and that wasn't something he exactly wanted to remember, not without at least enough alcohol on hand. The trees, flowers and everything in general were beautiful to look at, a delight to the eyes, but if he ever saw anything remotely reminiscent of a spore carrier, then he'd burn the entire forest to the ground without a second thought. To hell with mother nature, he still had nightmares about those nasty green creatures that, for whatever reason, seemed to appear where he least suspected, whether in Zion or on the Big Mountain, they were always following him to torment him; it was almost like a curse of sorts.
The forest was immense, bigger than anything they had ever seen. More surprising was the fact that the Pip-Boy's Geiger counter remained silent during the trip, never once detecting the slightest trace of radiation, as if that place had never experienced the atomic fire that covered the world centuries ago. It was a virgin land, still retaining the innocence and purity of the pre-war world, almost like Zion but without cazadores.
The trees, once a beautiful sight, soon became a monotonous nightmare. He began to get dizzy from seeing the exact same trunks and branches; the only thing that seemed slightly different on his long hike was the occasional rock that appeared from time to time. Barely a few hours walking through that forest and he already missed the Mojave. It may be an inhospitable desert where every living thing is hostile, but it had an arid beauty that he wouldn't trade for anything, especially if the alternative was that green labyrinth.
He and ED-E hiked and hiked for hours until night finally came. It was already dark before they could find any rivers or lakes, so the companions decided to take a break and set up camp for the night. The Courier's trusty Vault 13 canteen still had a generous quantity of water, so dehydration would not be a problem for some time.
"This sure is a large garden, don't you think?" asked the man as he fanned the fire of the bonfire.
Fire was not necessary for their survival, after all ED-E was a robot, and as such, could not feel the cold of the night. Meanwhile, the Courier had its cybernetic modifications that helped it maintain body heat in the harshest conditions. He couldn't die of hypothermia, but he still felt the instinctive need to protect himself from the cold. Besides, camping under the stars by a campfire had a certain charm, and this seemed like the perfect occasion to do so.
ED-E proceeded to make his usual beeping sounds, saying something that made the Courier burst out laughing.
"Ha! You're right! Raul would say something like that!" he said before starting to cough, trying to adjust his voice tone to resemble that of the two hundred year ghoul. "You've never experienced a real cold unless you've been to La Rosilla, boss."
Once again the Courier laughed, now accompanied by the beeps of the eyebot who moved from side to side in an effort to mimic laughter.
"It's been a while since I've seen that old man. I wonder how he's doing."
Suddenly, nostalgia began to hit him. He looked at the trees in front of him as he lost himself in the memories of the past nine years. Once his journey was over, only half of his beloved companions remained by his side, the rest going their own ways.
Raul was the first to go; the old ghoul became the defender of the weak, a ghost-vigilante who roamed the Wasteland in a cowboy outfit with a revolver in his hand, becoming the bane of raiders and bandits and the hope of the defenseless. At first he aided the newly formed Desert Rangers in their task of securing roads and settlements, but once peace came to the Mojave, the ghoul set off for other lands in search of innocents in need of his help. He didn't even bother to say goodbye before leaving Nevada, like the hard-boiled bastard that he was. He knew that if he did, one of them would start crying, maybe both at the same time.
Veronica, heartbroken as she watched the Brotherhood of Steel, her family, degenerate into nothing more than power-armored raiders, refused the offer to live on The Strip and left the Mojave, intent on making a new life far away. The Courier begged her to stay, he tried with all his might, but not even the man who managed to push back the Terror of the East could convince her, for she was a tough little cookie, whose determination was as mighty as her fists. With a sad smile she told a quirky joke before leaving, one that made them both laugh so hard that they even brought tears of laughter to their eyes, or at least that was the excuse they both gave each other as they gave each other one last hug. He still fondly remembered that silly joke, occasionally telling it to himself to lift his spirits.
Lily, sweet Lily. He didn't have the courage to make her forget her grandchildren, so she kept taking her meds at half doses. She made no progress at all, still rambling on about the grandchildren who died years ago, but not succumbing to the irrational rage and psychotic ways of Leo, the voice in her head. The lovable, confused grandmother remained the lovable nightkin she was until one day she expressed her desire to leave, saying that the key to her past lay in the west. He remembered that cold morning, when Lily gave him a hug so tight it nearly broke his reinforced spine, promising to bring back many memories for his little pumpkin. It had been five years since her departure, still without a single word from her. He hoped she would find whatever it was she was looking for.
And how to forget good old Rex, who although not gone from his life like the rest, was now a family dog, enjoying a new and peaceful life on Big Mountain with his mate, Roxie, and their litter of cyber-puppies. The little pups were simply adorable, although they had an annoying fixation of trying to rip his arm off every time he petted them. It seemed their parents hadn't taught them to respect each other's limbs, but they were so adorable he let it slide.
Only Arcade and Boone remained at his side, with the former serving as his right-hand man as he led the Federation. The scientist was more than happy to assist in the governance of the Federation and the care of the citizens. The Courier jokingly called him "The Nurse of New Vegas," being a title they soon discovered was more than popular with the people, much to Arcade's dismay. Boone, however, was more reserved, limiting himself to very rare and occasional visits to his former brother in arms. However, the Courier was content with that, he knew the sniper wasn't the most sociable man in Nevada, so the mere fact that he still bothered to make the trip to see him, with no intention of blowing a Legionnaire's head off in the process, made him more than happy.
Then, there was Cass. Things between the two of them were... complicated, to say the least. At first, they were together, closer than ever, but that event seven years ago changed everything. Now she was gone from his life with no intention of returning. He missed her, heaven knows he does, but the past was the past and there was nothing he could do about it. It was hard, more painful than the two bullets to the head years before, but as he learned at a certain casino, sometimes the best option was to let go.
"Too bad we couldn't find more cat mutants. I bet they must be tasty," the Courier said in a half-joking way, although he was indeed curious about their flavor. He has tasted cats before, so he wondered how a mutated feline would taste. "But well, this ain't bad either."
His dinner was simple and vulgar, just a can of Pork n' Beans that he heated on the fire before opening it and some whiskey to wash it down. ED-E had a large storeroom inside, in which he kept everything from weapons and gear to the occasional liquor and snack. The latter came in handy as they could find no source of water to drink and no wild animals to hunt, so the Courier would not go to sleep on an empty stomach.
Now that he thought about it, it was strange. He could understand that they wouldn't be able to find water, since that was a large and unknown forest, it would take some time, but not being able to see at least a single animal was just strange. A mutant had nearly robbed him the moment they got there, and now it seemed they were suddenly the only living things in the place.
Something did not fit.
"Well, time to count bighorners," the Courier yawned while stretching his arms.
The Think Tank had offered him a cerebral implant, one where the necessity to sleep would be eliminated. He declined; sleeping was one of the four primal pleasures along with eating, sex, and going to the toilet, so he was not inclined in losing one of them. Besides, he knew that his brain would not be too happy about having metal inside of him again.
He walked over to the eyebot to put the rest of the whiskey back in his internal storage, though he stayed next to the eyebot for a moment, whispering something under his breath. It only lasted for a few seconds, after that he proceeded to get up immediately and then walk away.
"Goodnight, buddy!" he declared aloud.
The Courier lay down by the campfire, putting his hands behind his head and making himself comfortable. His helmet rested next to him, as he was used to taking it off to sleep, thus leaving his face exposed to the cold wind, just the way he liked it. He closed his eyes and it didn't take him more than a few minutes to fall into the arms of Morpheus. ED-E was in charge of standing guard, after all, he had no need to sleep, and his enhanced sensors helped greatly in detecting and neutralizing any enemy from afar, making him ideal for standing guard during the night.
Unfortunately, ED-E's sensors only worked with the kind of enemy one would encounter in the Wasteland like mutated animals and raiders, as such, they were not fit to see through illusory magic, the same one that had made them walk in circles for the last hours.
Sage of the Forest is what they called her, a rather embarrassing but no less worthy title for someone like Sofiva. She was a proud owl mage, her family tree being one replete with renowned human and mamono mages, some of whom were even rumored to be as powerful as a baphomet, so the expectations on her back were immense to say the least.
Unlike most owl mages, who prefer to spend their lives in a single forest, Sofiva had ambitions. She left the nest at a young age, traveling the continent to satisfy her hunger for knowledge. From the dangerous lands of the Order to the hedonistic Demon Realms, to a short but rewarding trip to the mysterious Mist Continent, where her magical knowledge was greatly expanded, she traveled the world in search of knowledge. However, even that was not enough for her. She wanted more, she wanted to decipher the mysteries of the reality around her, to break the limits of her mortal mind and achieve something that no one, not even the Demon Lord, has been able to accomplish.
Her curiosity and craving for knowledge easily overcame her instinctive desire to mate, not surprising as members of the Harpy family only succumbed to sexual frenzy once they entered the breeding season, but Sofiva was an exceptional case as she always repressed her urges when they arose, though it was difficult. She nearly succumbed to her natural desires on more than one occasion, even risking abandoning her quest for knowledge just to settle down with a human husband, but she persisted and managed to resist, though she found it more difficult with each passing year.
She took a brief pause in her journey, not only because she needed to rest, but also for the need to reflect on what she had learned so far. For that, she decided to settle in the Forest of Lamilla, a vast and extensive woodland that served as the unofficial border between the pro-monster state of Marialis and the anti-monster state of Cerelia. It was a place surrounded by mystery and legend, perfect for someone like her.
Few humans dared to enter the forest, and even fewer managed to get out without being captured by the monstrous inhabitants who, like predators, waited patiently for an adventurer or mercenary foolish enough to venture into the forest on his own. Sofiva, however, had no such intention, she only wanted a place to recover from her long and exhausting journeys. She remained there for a few months, quickly attracting the attention of both aspiring human mages and curious mamono who visited in need of her wisdom, much to her chagrin.
Every day someone new came to her, asking some frivolous question in search of magical power, either for personal gain or for more ulterior motives. That day, however, no one came, much to her joy. At last, a quiet day, at last she could spend the morning and afternoon sleeping in peace, and then spend the night with her thoughts and meditate undisturbed... or at least that was what she had planned until the earth itself roared.
It was an event without precedents. The land had not experienced an earthquake since a long time, not even during the time of her ancestors, and never one of such magnitude, making her even fear for her life as if she were a frightened child. For the first time in years, she felt confused, without having any idea of what was happening.
That terrorized her, but also made her curious.
"Did… did it stop?" the owl mage asked to herself as she clung to the branch of the tree she had been resting on.
Sofiva was in a cold sweat and took a few minutes to regain her composure. It was a shocking and terrifying event, but at the same time a seductive mystery. She could not stand still and try to forget what had just happened, her pride as a scholar and owl mage would not allow her to do so. She quickly took flight, flapping her wings with effort to take off. Her body was larger and heavier compared to the other members of the Harpy family, and as such, her flying ability was inferior and deficient, being something she tried to compensate for with her mastery of the arcane.
She flew through the forest in search of something that might satisfy her curiosity, though without knowing exactly what she was looking for. She launched into action in an emotional and impulsive way, something unusual for her. She stopped her flight and landed on a tree, catching her breath after more than half an hour of fruitless searching.
"What am I doing…"
The feathered mamono felt silly all of sudden. Did she really hope to find the cause of the worst earthquake in modern history in that forest on her own? What madness possessed her to think something that childish and ignorant? She was supposed to be better than that.
Embarrassed by her own behavior, she prepared to leave and return to her meditation, but a weird noise caught her attention. It sounded like instruments of some kind, although she did not recognize them. It had a unique rhythm, like nothing she ever heard before. She followed the strange music, not taking long before finding its source: a strange metallic floating sphere.
Her yellow eyes widened in surprise at the sight of that thing. Whatever it was, it had no spirit energy at all, meaning it was not a living thing, and despite that, it moved on its own. She desired to approach and investigate that curious being, to figure out how something that unnatural could even exist, but to her bad luck, the thing was not alone. Along with the mysterious metallic sphere there was a tall humanoid who walked by its side, an intriguing figure who wore what seemed to be some kind of black armor that covered their body. A close inspection helped to determine that the armored stranger was a male, a human, but something was off about him. His spirit energy was… warped.
As she learned in her travels, there were many kinds of people with certain degrees of spirit energies. Some were unimaginably powerful, with such a strong life force that they were easily able to fight at the same level as high class monsters, others were weak and barely able to present the slightest threat. But that man was something else, his mana did not suffer from corruption like that of an incubus, but neither was stable like any other normal human, there was something wrong with it. She could not explain it, and that killed her inside.
Sofiva wanted, no, she needed to know about that curious duo. With stealth she followed them as she hid among the trees, using her natural magic of sneaking and illusion to remain hidden and out of their vision, but close enough to hear their conversation. The way they communicated was strange; the man spoke in a language she didn't recognize and the metallic sphere emitted annoying, high-pitched noises, yet they were somehow able to understand each other and engage in smooth, friendly chatter.
The owl mage followed them for hours on end, occasionally tricking them with illusions to make them walk in circles and prevent them from leaving the forest. However, this proved to be surprisingly difficult, as those two were able to see through her simpler tricks, the same ones that managed to fool both humans and mamono on numerous occasions, forcing her to make use of more elaborate and complicated spells. Strangest of all, they did not seem to notice her attempts; they simply passed through them as if they did not perceive them. Perhaps they already knew of her presence and were only feigning ignorance to taunt her, or they were legitimately incapable of being affected by the simplest illusions. Both possibilities made her nervous.
Finally night came, and with it, her senses sharpened. After all, she was a nocturnal harpy; she was better suited for action once the moon set. Sofiva watched from the darkness as the duo rested from their long journey. She watched expectantly as the man removed his helmet to eat, gasping quietly at what she saw. He was a mature man, easily someone in his late thirties, with an attractive, if slightly marked face. His hair was dark, but some parts were already gray, no doubt the result of a long, hard life.
For a moment the man stopped eating, looking up to the place where she was hiding. Her heart froze. Did he find her? Was he looking directly at her? A fight-or-flight dread took control of her; quickly thinking about what her next action should be. However, she noticed that the man was not looking directly at her, just lost in his thoughts. She could see sadness in his gaze, his eyes filled with what seemed to be pain and regret, making her feel pity for the stranger, so much that she even considered leaving her hiding place and hugging him on the spot. Sofiva quickly snapped out of that ridiculous idea, scolding herself for even considering it.
It took some time, but the man finally lay down to sleep by the campfire. The strange sphere was still awake, or at least that was what she suspected, it was hard to tell since the creature had no eyes, no face really, to show whether it was sleeping or not. She wasn't even sure that thing was capable of sleep, after all it wasn't a living thing. To her luck, the duo remained considerably separated from each other, giving her enough space to act.
She began whispering, preparing a powerful illusion spell, one that would take large amounts of her own mana to work. It proved difficult, but she managed to create a magical closed space surrounding the stranger, one that seen from the outside would look like a peaceful scene of the man sleeping. No sound would escape, and neither would him if he tried, and the best part of all, his metallic companion would be none the wiser.
Smiling triumphantly at the success of her spell, Sofiva quickly abandoned her hiding place and entered the invisible prison she created. Without the interference of the metallic sphere, she was finally alone with the sleeping stranger. She could only stare in silence, with a thousand questions in mind, but not knowing which one to ask first. But suddenly, the owl mage realized something important that she forgot due to her recklessness: he spoke in a different language.
How could she overlook something that important? If they were not able to communicate, then all of her efforts would be in vain.
"What do I do now?" she muttered to herself, trying to find the solution.
However, the memory of a certain wise mamono from the Mist Continent came to her mind, about that certain day when she learned an ancestral technique designed to share wisdom, one where knowledge could pass from one individual to the other with just a touch. She lacked the talent to master it and be able to learn instantaneously by just mere contact, much to her chagrin, but she learned how to share her own knowledge with others in a slower manner.
She gulped. Not only was it not guaranteed to work since she hadn't tried it ever since she left the Mist Continent, and as such lacked experience, but the process was so intimate that she feared losing herself to her repressed instincts. The owl mage stood quiet for a while before finally making a decision.
Sofiva slowly mounted on top of the sleeping human, sitting delicately on his waist. Her body, despite being bigger and plumper than the regular harpy, was lighter than it looked, so her weight would not wake the man, or at least she hoped so. She slowly leaned forwards, gently rubbing her forehead against his while closing her eyes. In a brief instant, their minds connected, with her knowledge about the spoken language of the land flowing directly to him, making him learn a completely new idiom in just a few minutes. He would be able to speak like a native in no time.
The process was intimate and slow, so much that she even lost track of time. Being so close with someone, especially with a human male, felt so warm and cozy that she just wanted to stay longer, to remain with him in that position even after the procedure ended, maybe even do something more than just that. However, her little happy moment came to an abrupt end as she felt a hand grabbing her nape and something pointy against her neck.
She opened her eyes in surprise and terror, finding in front of her the mocking gaze of the now awake man.
The Courier sensed that somebody was watching them, but for some reason he was not able to locate them, not even with the help of his Pip-Boy. Were they using some type of advanced Stealth Boy or something? Whatever it was, it helped them to remain hidden for a long time. For some reason, their mysterious stalker refused to attack or even interact with them, just focusing on following them for hours and hours. Not even ED-E's enhanced sensors were of any help, and that was odd because the Duraframe had the ability of detecting any menace from miles away. Whoever was stalking them somehow managed to hide their presence in an unnatural way, and that was something that aroused his scientific curiosity.
He pretended to fall asleep, using himself as bait while ED-E watched for any suspicious movement. The Courier remained quiet and with his eyes closed, waiting patiently for the mysterious stalker to fall in the trap. There was no doubt that they would take advantage now that one of the two was sleeping; it was the perfect moment for a surprise attack.
He suddenly heard someone land next to him. That was it; they took the bait, now it was just matter of seconds before ED-E incapacitated the enemy with a shot to the legs. He would not kill the stalker; after all, the Courier wanted to get some answers out of them; it would be a tragedy to waste such a precious source of information.
A second passed, then twenty, then forty, now a whole minute and that stranger was still standing next to him. What happened? Why didn't ED-E shoot at the target? The objective was right next to the Courier, but for some reason the eyebot did not seem to react, something strange considering that he had the equivalent of the vision of a cybernetic augmented eagle with telescopes instead of eyes, so for him to not see something that ridiculously close meant that something was wrong.
The situation only got weirder when he felt someone getting up on top of him in a position he knew pretty well, and if that was not enough, seconds later he could feel the rubbing of a forehead against his in what could only be described as an act of affection. This freaked him enough to finally make him open his eyes, expecting to find some type of horrendous mutant, maybe an overly affectionate raider who wanted some love before killing him, hell, even a combination of the two was possible, it would not be the first time. Instead of that, he found what he could only describe as beauty.
The beautiful face of a brown-haired woman was just inches away from his, being so close that he could feel her breath, with her eyes remaining closed as if she was waiting for a kiss or something. He considered the possibility that he accidentally fell asleep and was now having a wet dream of some sorts, because it would be more plausible to find a peace-loving talking deathclaw than whatever was happening right now. In addition, maybe it was the whiskey playing him mind games, but he could swear he saw something that looked like some kind of big feathers in the corner of his eyes
The Courier remained quiet, thinking about what the next course of action should be. Would he try to take that woman off him, or would he enjoy what seemed to be a free happy time? It took him some good solid minutes to pick the logical choice; after all, he was a sucker for pretty faces.
He quickly brought his hand to the holster around his own thigh and unsheathed Blood-Nap, a unique Bowie knife he found during his travel to the Divide, a weapon he always carried with him for emergencies and a personal favorite. He grabbed the nape of the woman in a flitch of a second and put the edge of the knife against the female's neck, causing the stranger to open her eyes in shock. She had beautiful and bright yellow eyes; almost hypnotic to look at, although he was sure they looked even more beautiful when they were not full of fear and panic.
"Evening, missy," said the Courier in a polite yet mocking manner while giving the stranger a nice and friendly smile. "Would you be so kind as to explain what you were going to do to me on this beautiful night?"
A small shallow cut formed on the stranger's neck, causing a small drop of blood to fall.
"I would suggest you to be honest and straight to the point; after all it would be a tragedy to ruin such a cute neck, don't you agree?"
She looked at him perplexed, with a noticeable terror implanted in her eyes, barely able to speak.
"I… I..." she stuttered, too scared to even form a sentence.
"You what?" he asked, eager for her reply.
She slowly replied. "I-I just wished to s-speak with y-you."
"Well I'll be damned, so do I!" he said in a playful manner. "The night is young, and we have so much to talk about, sweetie."