Someone wrote in [personal profile] falloutkinkmeme_backup 2014-08-24 08:04 pm (UTC)

Turn Wounds into Wisdom 2a/?

The anniversary of the victory of Hoover Dam was a grand affair, with a bonfire burning on the large plaza in front of the Fort all night. Food and drink was abundant, as if people didn’t care about possible shortages as long as they could properly celebrate this day, the day of their victory, the day they had won their freedom.

There was maize beer and a spirit of distilled honey mesquite and cactus fruit. Fruit juices and some kind of herbal tea that Vincent was eyeing especially suspicious, as the people drinking this had seemed equally inebriated as the ones consuming alcohol.
The tables bent under the loads of fruit and vegetables, both gathered and grown; under maize bread, cooked and roasted meat of bighorner, brahmin, mole rat, gecko and crow, the latter two also having supplied eggs for some other dishes.

There was music too, there was singing, and you could hear drums, reed flutes, dried gourds filled with sand or pebbles, and here and there a single pre-war instrument, fitting more or less well into the sounds of the earthen tribal sounds. And the people sang and danced long into the small hours of the night.

The courier had sent out invitations to all those who had helped her in winning the battle of Hoover Dam, and now, during the night of the anniversary, there was a rare sight to behold:
Members of all tribes united, White Gloves, Chairmen, Omertas, side by side with the Followers of the Apocalypse, the two surviving members of the Enclave Remnants and a delegation from the Boomers. The Brotherhood of Steel was absent albeit they had sent their regards, the same with the mutants from Jakobstown. While Tara had tried her best to establish friendship and cooperation with the latter two factions, all she so far had achieved was careful neutrality.

For Vincent, the day had been anything but happy. The celebration proper had started around noontime and Tara had spent the whole day amidst the crowds, talking, laughing, celebrating; letting men and women shake and kiss her hands, sharing food and drink with countless people, especially the former slaves, and had spent hours mingling with groups of dancers.
Vincent in turn had watched her every move, and every move of everyone around her, and her carelessness had almost driven him insane. And even although he knew she was aware of a possible threat, she acted as if there was nothing she would ever have to fear, and that was even worse to him.

Of course, none of the happy celebrators would do anything to harm her; he knew that well, but the possibilities of spies never left his mind. The NCR still hadn’t sent word, and he knew that back in Flagstaff, Tiberius, the heir of Caesar was still very much alive. He had told Tara as much, months ago in fact, but she was of the opinion that even with Caesar’s heir, the Legion wasn’t a force to be reckoned with, not anymore. He hadn’t completely agreed with her, but Tara had told him they had more pressing matters to deal with than a leader of a beaten army bearing a grudge. Whatever was left of the Legion, she had said, had nothing to oppose her army of robots, and most likely, she was right. But any frumentarius worth his salt would have had ample opportunity to kill her easily during that celebration, and by the time Tara finally retired back into the Lucky38, shortly before daybreak, Vincent was so tense that he felt as if his body was made of lead.

The utter relief he felt at having made it back into the safety of her home did little to ease his discomfort.
“I’m having a bath first”, Tara said to Vincent as they had entered the suite. “You don’t have to stay up and wait for me.”
Vincent gave her a grateful nod and his head had hardly touched the pillow when he drifted off into oblivion, finally knowing her to be safe.


x-x-x-x-x-x


Post a comment in response:

If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

If you are unable to use this captcha for any reason, please contact us by email at support@dreamwidth.org