Queen's note: …sort of alive, was sick for a while, but hopefully you guys enjoy the next few chapters over the next few days.

Welcome to the Wasteland

Chapter Twenty:

Clean Up

It was far too early, daylight or not, it was just too early. Lana was not fully impressed with how everything was unfolding, or that she had to use the full bit and stud chain with Buck.

The bull had seemed okay when she saddled him up, but once up in the saddle, the moose realized they were going away from the Co-op and his cows…

They had a good long 'talk' after some bucking and a moose fit, but Lana knew how to stay in her saddle. She knew how to deal with her mount until he was thinking with his real brain and not other parts.

It had been a rough morning in other words.

"I need to make a round pen, or a bullpen." Lana said as she scanned around the big field. Not just for Buck, but to start training for the new babies when they were ready later on in the year. Also to help make sure Buck kept his manors, he was no wild bull and she had let him get away with running around last night... maybe she should not have done that, but he had been tired enough the ride was not as bad.

Lana definitely needed to make sure to catch the calving heat in the next few days. Depending on what was happening at the farm, maybe tomorrow, so the cows had some bonding time.

Would Deegan be okay with her breeding his bull brahmin to the new cows Valory mentioned? There seemed to be some more that were gathered from this field. He said she could for a stud fee, what Deegan thought was a fair fee and what cut she could have if it. Now would be the time to breed the new cows she had, as the first one the older man taught Lana how to breed the brahmin.

"Hoo…" Lana said, pulling the rains and Buck huffed but quickly stopped as he was reminded of the bit and how unimpressed his human had been all morning with him. Shifting a bit in place, but one he was standing quiet, the pressure eased away. Lana stood up in the stirrups after a moment, scanning around and spotted something moving in the field. She turned Buck to head that way, studying the group of... oddly small deer fussing about. They did not have the same mutations as the bigger deer, the so-called rad 'stags.'

Still ridiculous that name, completely so.

The smaller deer were single headed, the older ones having thicker fur like armor. Radiation protection?

The yearling bucks were practicing their sparring with their growing antler nubs, still very velvety and soft looking. No dominant herd buck was around, several doe and their current as well as last year fawn. One of the young males tried to issue a challenge at the moose, bounding over first. Followed by it's buddies.

Then Buck moved, the bull moose's head swinging around to study these little whippersnappers trying to be bigger than they were. Faced with the sudden realization of how big the moose was, as well as the size of his paddles… they were so brave as the young deer skidded to a stop and stared.

Lana smiled as Buck snorted under her, but stayed still as she sat back down. She almost wanted to see if these deer were as calm as the other, two headed kind around.

She hummed and squeezed her legs, turning from the deer and faced the farm. Her mount turning to follow where she was facing, setting off at a steady walk to the Abernathy farm. Only once he was clearly ignoring the 'kids' and a good ways away, did the yearling group run back to their mothers. Not quite old enough or brave enough to leave just yet as it turned out.

The woman chuckled, though studied the new creatures as best she could without confusing Buck as they stayed a safe distance. Not too far as Buck was not being aggressive.

She glanced down, finding the tracks of the small deer. Having a moment at first of realizing how cute the little hoof prints were beside Buck's massive foot. Lana could see their grazing path from her spot. It was interesting to take note of the plants they seemed to like the most. Some half eaten, others stripped to the roots almost.

Lana slowed Buck to a standstill again, looking puzzled as she saw some plants had been dug up with tiny hooves so the roots to be eaten. It was a new plant for her, a crawler so to say, like strawberries.

Wait.

Noel had mentioned something about a strawberry-like plant. He had been looking for it around the Co-Op's forest and the area around the Bunker entrance.

Lana cued her moose, "Bow Buck, down."

With a deep sigh, and a tilt of his ears- not too far though, the bull moose shifted and started to kneel forward. Feeling Lana shift in his saddle, staying on until his long legs were folded and Buck was laying down. Settled down to wait for whatever his human needed to do.

Some of the crawlers were gone, but Lana knelt down and traced what was left to the mother plants, hiding under nibbled on old chamomile plants. The woman found… four connected mother plants, and an assortment of trailers and new shoots outside of the grazing path.

Lana got out several specimen bags for the plants, as well as her trusty tiny shovel. It's handle fit in her palm and let her both dig up the strawberry like plants, finding a few small white berries hiding in some. Lana happily pruned the decaying leaves off, and made sure there was plenty of dirt from around the mother plants to save the roots. The trailers were carefully cut off if big enough to go in other bags. All were carefully hooked up to the outside of Buck's saddle bags.

Rains in hand, Lana led the moose once he was up again, searching for any more of the same plant for a while. It was good to keep Buck calm and remembering his patience. Then climbed back up into the saddle after finding another uneaten patch, getting more samples of the crawler plants, trailers and a couple mother plants. She could follow their tracks back if she needed more of the pants.

The plants looked like strawberries, only white berries. One berry was older and likely from the winter, Lana had the dried thing in her free hand to look over. Despite the rad storm it was surprisingly dry on the skin. The seeds were a little bigger than a normal strawberry's, and almost looked like they were trying to germinate. Most had a tiny thread like line trying to come out of the little seed.

What had Noel called them….?

Winter berries.

Or mulberries?

She had not tried them back in Concord, letting Megan have Lana's offered share of the treats.

Buck huffed a small warning, not to Lana exactly, but to what was shifting out of the tall grass. Between them and the Abernathy farm, that smaller male Deathclaw.

Moon Ridge, that's what Valory had called him. Lana tilted her head as Buck squared up, head lowering to show the warning of his antlers. "Pretty bold of you this morning sir."

The Deathclaw tilted his head back and forth, clearly listening and looked puzzled at the half greeting. The lack of fear stink too… Moon Ridge flicked out his tongue, catching the small human smell, but…oddly, this one smelled like the Matriarch. He was staring, as this was the closest he had been to the big female's clear Favorite. Val…vallor… Valor? She loved this human, and the male could see the deathclaw hide on the human, though not the same.

The Moose stepped forward, antler-horns in position and shaken in warning. It was coming and he was in the way, and Moon Ridge was pretty sure this creature had fought his own kind before. He hopped up and backed off, then moved to his left to open a clear path to the farm.

Silvery eyes watching with his head tilted, but Moon Ridge kept his killing claws folded. His expression puzzled but interested as he retreated politely, having only just gotten permission to patrol the inner territory without the Matriarch near.

He stood up in surprise as the human riding the new creature chirped at him, not unlike a hatchling giving a shy greeting at meeting the rest of the pack for the first time.

The male deathclaw slowly settled back down in the grass, thinking over this new information. Once there was a good distance and he could see the human calling out to the human den…'home' that was nearby, only then did Moon Ridge slide to backtrack their trail. He had seen the small deer that got the humans attention, but what was she so focused on in the ground?

Did he miss something?

What was dug up?

As Moonridge tried to investigate what was so interesting, Vallory was both down wind and slowly limping near the forest line, heading up to the farm as well. Her wounded leg bandaged up this time, if quite a bit stiffer. She needed to rest and sleep, but stayed near Lana at first just in case Buck had been too much. Now she might as well check the Abernathy's and meet any of the new people that would be up this early.

Lana was dismounted, moose laying on the ground for Lana to get in and out of his saddle bags and the medical supplies she had collected and made. Connie and Blake were there, with the kids, having set up some new cooking fires and that bigger pit near the stream cleared out with a few half barrels to start boiling water. Likely for cleaning cloths as Vallory could smell soap and the dried blood on fabrics stacked near.

She chuffed once close enough, finding a spot near the back the truck trailers turned barns. Laying down on her good side, stretching out her bandaged leg in a way it would not get dirty.

"You did have a bad night." Connie noted, looking worried as she came over to the spot, "Thank you for the deer, are you sure you don't need any more of it?"

"I am fine," Valory chuckled, she was almost stuffed full, "I… ate last night. Very full. Now I just need to rest."

"Lots of sleep I didn't get to do, picking sticks out of your leg by lantern last night." Lana sassed, but gave a tired smile as she came over. "Did Megan come up before you left?"

"Not yet, Jake went to talk to her and… Noel?" Valory said the name carefully, motioning to her wrapped leg, "Find anything useful in the bunker. Sealed fabric or badges?"

"I remember a container that was listed as having some medical supplies." Connie nodded, now that she could think after some rest and not worry someone was going to drop. "We should get some, it would help a lot here, I still have some MedX, it's as close to a sedative as we have."

Lana winced, "That bad?"

Blake nodded with his wife, "Several used stim packs, but also kept piling bandages and cloth before, or while using it."

Lana shivered with a soft sound of sympathetic pain, "Owww, if it grew with the fabric, eww."

Connie could not help but laugh, and Valory snorted and squinted in her own reaction, "Yeah, I'm afraid of that. I was thinking we might be able to get those desks at the shipping yard that were left yesterday. Should be easy to disinfect as they're metal, and use one or two to lay a Minutemen out on and…. Well knock them out with the MedX."

It seemed like the best and kindest way to get the old stuck on bandages and clothes off.

"...he wasn't lying." It was a soft voice, different enough from what the group had grown used to with each other, meaning one of the new people.

Valory shifted, so she could get at least one golden eye on the new speaker. Seeing Lana and Lucy jump a moment as they were the closest.

Dark hide….skin. That's right, the proper human term was skin. He was not too much older than Lana, the same age bracket at least. She leaned to her right, slowly sinking to lay back down on her right side. Valory made another softer chuffing like sound in greeting, but also a deep rumble escaped. Not a growl or warning but the calm neutral she watched the new human while crossing her forearms to rest on them.

Lana fussed over the bandaged leg, making sure it was still clean and no bleed throughs while Connie waved the young man over.

"Come, it's okay, meet our friends from the co-op Preston." Connie smiled reassuringly as she stepped over to take Preston's hand and led him closer as another man was walking up from the co-op. "This is Valory, and that's her charge Lana. The man waking up is Jacky."

The scarred man waved, breathing a little heavy, "Hello! And good morning Connie."

Lana waved as Preston looked both bewildered and awed as the Deathclaw gave a softly spoken greeting. "Hello young one."

"We're all mostly young to her, except the Uncles and Aunties." Lana said motioning to Jacky before he ruffled her hair.

"Megan is staying back at the co-op, with Frederick and the others for now, but she's sending things by way of Jake soon." Jacky glanced at Connie unslinging the pack on his back. A small duffle that had be rotated. "For now I brought some clean cloths from the stores, and cleaner for washing up, before we make the trip into Concord."

"There were raiders there." Preston started, worried at that, but gratefully taking a bundle made of a simple green shirt, gray pants, slipper like booties or moccasins but also...clean socks! As well as a pair of under things tucked inside the paints. Preston felt very touched as he held the bundle, "Thank you…"

"It's ok lad," Jacky reassured, "It's not much but I'll hold to it, that clean cloths help people. As for Concord-"

"I doubt any survived the night." Connie snorted, "He didn't seem like it, but Deegan was angry last night. He knows we go into Concord regularly, I doubt he would leave the raiders for us."

"He's not the type." Lana hummed thoughtfully, glancing at the Matriarch beside her with a questioning tone.

"The wind is coming from the wrong angle." Valory noted after scenting the air. "I will send the male over later, he knows the old city."

"We'll keep an eye out until you talk to him again." Lana glanced at Connie who nodded, and continued to speak. "The girls will be up soon, and the kids. You though Preston,"

The young man tried to stand up right, pulled out of his staring trance at Valory due to the 'mom' tone used in his detection. "How can I help?"

"Can you get your men and the rest of the survivors into what they can of the new clothes?" Connie asked, her voice softening a bit as she pointed to the basic washing bin station she had already set up and got a fire started under the biggest metal basin. "Faster we can get the worst of... everything out of your normal clothes, the better some of you will feel. And heal. A clean, well fed body will heal faster and better."

"Also," Lana eyed Preston, or rather his neck with the angry bite marks. She motioned to the same spot on herself, "Drainage. That looks infected from here."

Preston winced, reaching up to lightly tap near the spot, finding a larger marble there then it was the day before. "... probably."

Jacky laughed, "First, change of clothes, keep the new people from panicking, easy food for breakfast and then we'll tackle medical, I have a feeling that will be our day."

Reviews!

Justsomerandombastard: Thank you! There is going to be some tie ins to Fallout 3 [DC\Capitol wasteland right?], though so far I've only done a few rps with New Vegas and Zion park. Also...erm, I got sick for a long time with Covid from Christmas to the start of Feb.