Queen's note: One Family meets another. Also canon typical violence at the end of the chapter...because Valory
Welcome to the Wasteland
Chapter Five
The Farm Territory
It was not until later that afternoon when Deegan and Lana started for the nearest settlement. Getting Deegan's things put away, and Lana taking a bit to climb up on the roofs to see their conditions. She also found some chicken wire in good condition to be set aside. The small animals were fed, given water and some seedlings set out to be exposed to the weather in the day.
When they headed off, Lana was on a saddled up Buck scanning around. Her hunting rifle in the saddle scabbard, taking her long distance weapons as well. Valory followed at a slow pace, listening intently to Deegan talk about the commonwealth and the old cities, where there were settlements and towns. Where Deathclaws had been seen and the descriptions of them. And warning about the hyper aggressive ones near and in the glowing sea.
Golden eyes squinted a bit, "It does not sound like there are...stable matriarchs here."
Deegan tilted his head, glancing at Lana as they followed the road from the dam and around the lake up to the north. "How so? I'm not sure I understand that."
"Deathclaws are pack orientated," Lana attempted to explain, frowning herself. "And 'ruled' so to say, by a strong willed and dominant female, or three for the bigger packs. Like Valory they tend to be older females that got big, more so the wild packs."
"If the matriarchs are...loopy? They can not control the males and lesser females." Valory tried again, motioning her knuckles at Deegan and then around them. "Or there are no more old matriarchs to make peace, truce? Between the packs. Hunting grounds over lap and pack fighting starts."
"You'll have to see if there's any older deathclaws around that are okay talking about the pack history." Lana glanced over, and then back to studying the tree lines for another moment. Then homed into a big cluster of orange flowers in full bloom just off the side of the road.
"If they will listen...or if I can understand them." Valory snorted, shaking her head and neck.
"Do deathclaws have different languages or dialects?" Deegan asked surprised, blue and red eyes meeting the amber gaze.
"In a way." Valory nodded, her forearms tucked close, looking like some strange t-rex poster in her posture, "Not like the difference of English and Spanish… accent? Some packs have their own words for things."
"I think I understand." the scarred man nodded, smiling a bit. He paused before the end of the dam and scanned ahead in case of an ambush. But it was oddly...quiet up in this direction. Other then that one nest of raiders Deegan was not aware of too many threats in the north west of the Commonweath.
"The farm is around the lake here, and farther up north is a nearby vault too." Deegan spoke up as they started again. Valory walking ahead of them.
"Vault tech?" Lana asked with a bit of a snort. "I don't think they would be the kind of people to make a seed vault, but it might be worth checking out. If nothing else then for salvage...if there's no one in there."
"That I don't know," Deegan admitted, "Last time I was in the area to check it out was only the surface area, and even then it was looking for direct supplies for use. Armor, weapons, any surviving tech."
"Normal stuff," Lana nodded.
"Normal stuff." Deegan agreed, though he had a moment internally as he glanced at Lana. Not for the first time struck at how each new generation was adapting to the after of the 'after the end of the world.'
At least that was a good thing.
Deegan still felt old as they walked around the lake, finding the right road to head up to the farm he knew. Stopping only a few times to let Lana gather some plants the man pointed out. It was still a nice change to explain what things were, and help put the wild carrots and other herbs he knew of into the fabric bags and explain about them. Even if it was just telling Lana noticing more when he saw these plants crop up over the last few centuries. Deegan did try to say what he heard of others using the plants and his family.
As the trees thinned out and the grass was getting a bit thicker, Lana squeaked in excitement. She swung down to the ground, paused and crouched by a cluster of flowers.
"Pollinators?"
Deegan peered over her shoulder, seeing the still small insect and knew exactly where they came from. "Yes, those I know were released back in the wild a decade ago. There was a place…. Grey Garden that had those in the basement through the worst of the weather and rads. I guess there's a nesting box nearby.
"Not bumblebees or Honey bees… or flower flies."
"Mason bees." Deegan smiled and motioned to the wild flowers popping up more as they traveled. "I don't think they have any predators, so far they've been spreading outside of the bigger city."
"This is amazing," Lana shifted to keep the little pollinator in view as it found another cluster of flowers. Letting this new discovery settling on her mind, before Lana looked relieved.
She got up and half wondered if she could somehow get some home eventually. At a light tug on her elbow, Lana turned back to the road, making a face back at Valory as she stuck a long forked tongue out at them.
"Shuush you."
"I said nothing." Valory flashed what was a grin for her and started walking again, drifting closer to one of the dreams that fed into the man made lake. Standing tall for a moment to look around as the humans caught up, only when they were close enough and Valory did not see any threats did she ducked down to start drinking.
Deegan glanced over, slowing his stride a bit as Lana found a new plant to deftly dig up and inspect once in a cloth pot. It had to go into one of the larger ones, as it was a big cluster of dark green.
"I think this is chamomile." Lana said with some surprise, happy surprise as she inspected the plant from stem to leaves and gave one of the already bloomed flowers a sniff.
"Is it?" the scarred man paused, glancing around, "I thought they were just surviving daisies."
"There are daisies too Edward, see this has wider peddles?" Lana showed Deegan, "You can also smell the differences too. These are just...big. The flower is just opening, I wonder..."
"Still good for tea?" Deegan asked, glancing up at movement. It was just Valory catching back up from her drink break. He stooped to get a sniff of the offered plant and tilted his head as memory coughed up something, "It smells like an apple almost."
"Slight mutated with size, but I think this came from german chamomile. I like it here just for the flora on the ground level. Oooh, I wonder if this would partner with radexus or just tolerate it."
"You can always try it." Deegan shrugged, noticing the moose had stopped walking and grazing at the same time. Head lifted and stopped mid chew to listen and watch. Following the big beastie's gaze, expecting a predator or a mirelurk but only saw a small herd of rad stag…
Deer.
Why did everything deer shaped get called a stag?
Now that Deegan thought about it it would bug him for a while.
The creatures were not showing stress, though seemed annoyed. Kept glancing at something that was fallowing them. Trying to be apart of the herd, even if its heard was not the same…
"Lana," Deegan called softly as he kept his eyes on the herd and the Brahmin and its load. "You still have rope?"
"Yes," The woman looked up, saw him staring and turned, blinked and moved to her mount and pulled out a nest bundle of rope. Handing it over easy enough. "Run away?"
"In a way, I bet it was with a merchant and… well I would not be surprised to find the trader dead." The scarred man made a loop and walked slowly over, the deer wavering and walking to keep a bit of space. Yet Deegan had no weapon up and was humming softly, walking not like a predator but...just someone walking by.
There was a nervous chuffing, the Brahmin shifting, talking a step after its adopted herd. Its middle was swollen not with fat or infection… Lana tilted her head and leaned to her right, getting a better look as Deegan talked to the burden beast.
"She's pregnant?" Lana half asked, maybe crooned a bit over at the brahmin as Deegan was able to loop the rope over the thicker of the two heads.
"Looks like it." Deegan walked over, leading the cow over. "She's been wandering around for a while. How did you make that halter with a rope for the deer?"
Lana reached out for the excess of the rope, making the requested halter-lead. Leaving enough to stretch over and tie an improvised halter on the other head, they still had room to move but would have to follow along. "Once there's some leather it's easier, but you do this.. And curl it around and then through here. Want me to tie them to Buck?"
"That might be best." Deegan nodded, checking the load on the brahmin's back. "Other then the straps pulled tight… I think she's holding this up well. A few loose ropes."
"Should we take it all off?" Lana asked, peering over as she finished tying the cow to Buck's saddle with enough space to not get in the way. It was a slip knot that she could pull free when in the saddle.
"No, she can handle the rest of the day and trip back to the Co-op." Deegan shook his head. "She might get too rowdy than what's good for her if we take off. We can grab some fencing to take home, make a proper pen for both Brahmin to recover."
"Alright," Lana tilted her head, not sure how she felt about that, but she did not know these creatures. They were just a new interesting animal back home, some had seemed too thin but we're filling out when she left.
Seeing this one and Deegan's bull?
Lana wondered if there was someone around here that would put up with all her questions about them in detail.
Or…
"Are then vets around?" Lana asked as they started off again. Valory keeping Buck between her and the new Brahmin, so not to spook it more than she had too. "Veterinarians that is."
"Uhh… up at the old Creamery there was a ghoul couple that used to be livestock vets. I think they breed Brahmin, something like sheep that came from out west too. And a bird, not sure if they're chickens or pheasants. They live in the creamery or a nearby farm."
"Oo… I'll have to go check that out. Chickens huh? I thought those were only in the mid South? A few travelers like me left in a group down that way to try and get some. Our quail are only so big, even with all the breeding over the years."
"How did you get the quail?" Deegan asked, and then added as he spotted one of the old power towers, not the one he wanted. "That's the trail, you can see the farm and house in the distance. And the look I got of what's in the cages… I can't place the breed of bird."
Lana blinked, looking ahead as Valory stood for a better look at it and tilting her head.
"Their a mix like I said before, or descendants of a mix. When the bombs dropped some in the small town had quail as pets, as did Grandpa and the aunties. Between them and what was trapped live in the wild we had quite a breeding stock. Uncle Richard and my great grandpa-"
"His brother?"
Lana nodded, "Yeah, they trapped as many live quail and rabbits as they could. Even grabbing bugs like the flower flies, and the first generations of elk, deer and moose for us. Not the bears though. The herbivores were, and still are happy to live off the radexes moss and a partner grass."
Deegan tilted his head slightly, scanning for where that radstag… rad deer? the herd had gone, thinking of the young fawn he saw. "Is that how he passed? Your grandfather?"
"Yeah…" Lana considered her family history, "He and Uncle were one of the only able bodies and experienced hunters. I know grandpa had been a trapper and tagger for the old States' and Provinces' fish and game rangers."
Valory gave a rumbling, party listening to the humans as something got her attention ahead as they stayed in the tree line for now. Just wanting to let them know that she was aware of a conversation if they needed her attention back but... really was interested in something else.
"They both got radiation sickness as a storm from the east I think came in." Lana had to pause and think about that, "Uncle was sicker to start with. And great grandpa insisted on going out still, to teach others about his traps and trails… he didn't see the bear as far as anyone was able to tell. One good hit to the head...he was killed or knocked out and then killed."
Deegan winced, considering how big the black bears here got after mutating, the man also eyed Buck and the sheer mass. Deegan did not want to think how big the bears had gotten up north. "For what it's worth, I hope it was fast."
"I do too." Lana offered her hand to the brahmin cow as Valory was walking ahead of the group. The deathclaw hunched over in her normal comfortable long distance stride. The young woman was used to her pack sister taking wide swaths around her and the critters. She was distracted by the brahmin nudging her for attention, rubbing her knuckles other the broad forehead of the main head.
"Look at those big soft eyes," Lana cooed, the cow chuffing for more attention. Even if it was just having the humans walk beside her with a hand on her head and the other scared human had a hand on her side. "You really were tamed huh? I hope this means you were treated well, cargo hauling aside."
"Most brahmin are pretty much passive," Deegan aloud, chuckling lowly, "One or two might be crazy from the rads, but mostly you can just walk up to them. I know they will sometimes wander into settlements wanting attention and get adopted. Most of the time people mean safety from predators."
Lana nodded, rubbing her knuckles on the side of Buck's neck so he would not be left out. Or feel jealous. Something over a ton throwing a fit was not a good thing.
Lana glanced back at the brahmin, tilting her head to get a glimpse of the udder, noticing that it as well as a few other spots had old scarring. Like something had been removed- extra limbs? Tumors?
A whistling like sound followed by a sharp click had Lana snapping around, even Buck's head lifting at the alert. Noticing where Valory was glancing back at them, hunched over low to the ground. Jerking her head at where there was a relatively large cluster of people by the home built up around one of the towers, using it as support.
"Trouble?" Deegan asked, glancing to the side as Lana was pulling her hunting rifle out of its scabbard, fumbled a moment to detach the compound bow. The scarred man reached out with his free hand to unhook it, his right swinging his own riffle off his shoulder.
"Trouble." Lana agreed, pulling Buck's head down low before stepping away. Falling a step or two behind Deegan with her bow and quiver on her back while making sure her rifle was loaded.
It took the confused moose a moment to realize what was going on. When he started after his person, Buck was tugged to the right. Baffling the bull moose until he realized the Brahmin that had been tied to him was not budging other then slowly turning. She had just enough tonnage on her own to not be easily moved without coaxing.
Maybe it was a plan of Lana's, or just worked out to keep the animals back long enough to put some distance between them and the people.
Deegan just caught up to Valory who was crouching in a new spot, and caught male voices he did not know, Lana sliding almost soundless beside him and lifting her rifle. The man only just recognized the situation, as well as the panic in Black and Connie's voices as Valory was acting on things first.
"Raiders," Deegan told Lana, "Aim center mass, they're too close to the settlers."
"Center mass," Lana echoed to show she heard as the young woman breathed out slowly, trying to get herself to calm down. Not wanting to rely on holding her breath, she was dropping down to lay down, not as comfortable being able to kneel to shoot like the scarred man.
Plus it kept her out of Deegan's way as Lana lined up a shot for the closest raider to the tree line while Valory got herself into position.
There was something about deathclaws that really just defied their makeup. They really did not look like they should be able to move as fast as they could. Like a new kind of living dinosaur or an earthly cousin dragon that stepped out of the myths.
For all of Valory's long stride and naturally hunched position she pointedly had not moved as swiftly as that first rescue meeting. Moving slower then her normal when around Deegan as he got used to her.
Now?
It took two full strides before Valory was bounding down hill and cutting back up to be behind the cluster of raiders. All with barley making sound thanks to her clear experience and the grass, so even the Abernathy family barely realized what was in front of them until the raiders did.
There was a low, deep growl followed by the clacking of rattling spine ridges. The leader of the group, or at least the one holding a hostage froze.
Finally realizing the sudden wave of fear from the family was not, in fact for old Razor, but another kind of nightmare of the wasteland. He almost did not want to turn as hot air was snorted down his exposed back.
The man could see the faces of the other three, the father and mother grabbing at that blond daughter he had considered bring back home as a hostage and possible slave laborer. Pulling her back with them as they looked horrified of some certain death of their other daughter that had nothing to do with Razor's arm around her neck and the gun to the brunette hair.
Razor turned, in time with the man to his left, heard his crewmate whimper as he met the golden predatory eyes that were looking down at him.
The Deathclaw gave another low grown, rattling out between the opening fangs- like death itself chuckling though the beast.
"Oh…" Razor breathed as his pistol lowered a bit, following his shoulders, "Fuck me man."
The Deathclaw tilted her horned head...and smiled. It was some kind of uncanny valley where the expression was and was not alike to a human. She stepped forward, head lowering as a gravel-growling voice spoke clearly from the beastie.
"I would rather not." The Deathclaw said, flicking a glance at the hostage human that seemed to be frozen. Seeing a face young like Lana, and already drenched in fear scent. Eyes widening even more at hearing her, "Humans are hardly as big as even the lesser males."
"What in hell's name-" a man to the right choked.
"Not hell," Valory lashed out, grabbing the leader, slipping her left hand between him and the girl as she stood back up. One deft move of turning to drop the girl behind her and using the momentum to throw Razor with all her force at the tree line.
Twisting back to roar at the other remaining four raiders.
There were two shots from rifles.
Three raiders.
Gunshots hit Valory, but though she twitched in reflex it was only small caliber bullets and pipe weapons. Two of the raiders backing up and unloading full clips at her head. Valory had to close two of her inner lids to protect her eyes as she lashed out with her killing claws on the one man that had frozen with lifting his shotgun up.
Knocking the one gun that would smart out of its owner's hands and spinning the human around. Biting down on the back of his neck to break it, shifting to keep her bulk between the raiders retreating and the girl almost under Valory's tail at this point.
She was rising just to to see one of the running men stubble and yell as a rifle report sounded, hitting him in the leg. Valory shifted her gaze to the farther human and launched after, making full use of her speed and stride to catch up and come down on him. Using her weight to break the man's spine before driving her killing claws into him.
"No, no, nononono-!" The last surviving raider had been hit in the back, but unlike the second to die he did not. Not yet. Trying to scramble away, trying to keep running again. His leg would not keep him up. "God no- notlikethis- please!"
"Perhaps then," Valory hissed softly as she got up and started walking back towards him. "You should have picked… a better path." The matriarch motioned to the farm and the family that where trying to get their fallen daughter, blood still dripping off her killing claws, the middle three.
"Predation... of other humans, those that would be Pack… well. It does not sit well with me." Valory was speaking as clearly as she could, slowing her speech just a bit to get the syllables right. Looming over the raider she bared her full fangs while reaching for him. "Perhaps you will make better choices in your next life, raider."
The yell was cut off in a wet gargle before Valory dropped the man. Backing up from the body to dig her claws into the earth for cleaning. Watching the small human family pack as Deegan called out for their attention.
A semi distant half bark, half throaty howl of a deep voice like hers had Valory's attention swinging to the east. Rising up to her full height now that she was in the open.
She spotted the wild Deathclaw, attracted by the composition but hesitating to come closer to the bigger female.
"Oh bothers and broken shells." Valory muttered as if cursing, taking a chase she stepped forward at the distant back male. Taking a deep breath and letting out a long, carrying roar, spreading her forearms and claws out wide. A not really low, nor screeching scream but a wordless territorial claim of this area.
The smaller male started, hopping back and crouching down from his own tall stand to watch. He turned and left until he was behind a thin line of trees, peering back to see if he would be chased... but he was respecting a defined line.
reviews!
justsomerandombastard:
thank you, that means a lot! I love world building things and writing them, hopefully the pacing is good. As for animal stuff... yes. Lana would probably adopt everything and get upset Valory has to thin a herd out XD As for the main characters and story yes in a way. Like Lana's story crosses a lot of paths but is not dependent on the Sol when they come... and I might be playing with some game mechanics of things needing to be in an order for important things to happen