💘 ic inbox for hadriel

[synthedick]

Comments

[voice]

[circumitus]

[Surprisingly, Rey hasn't lived alone all that much either. She'd spent four years living in Chicago with her father, with the frequent visits of her brother. Before that, she didn't even really have much of a home. She didn't know how well she would even adjust to this lifestyle. But it isn't that bad.]

Sure thing. Will just grab what's left at my place and prep for relocating. There's not that much stuff, anyway.

[She lives a pretty spartan lifestyle.]

See you soon, then.

[There just may be a slight hint of a smile on her face just then. Not that Nick can see, but it's there.]

[voice] → [action]

[synthedick]

[Neither of them is living the high life. Nick will go back to get his houseplant once they've picked out a place. For now, he's just glad that's a thing that's happening. After the dreams and the secrets delved from both of their minds, they could use a break.

He catches up with her near the spiral housing, his sword hanging off his belt beneath his coat. He'd been hoping to find something in the armory that was a little less Hancock and a little more himself, but it looks like the sword he's been carrying for a month or so is still the best option for now.

He greets her with her name and a nod, as usual, but his tone is lighter than it's been in days.]

Rey.

[action]

[circumitus]

[Most of Rey's things can be packed away into one box, so that's easy to leave behind while they sort out where to migrate to.

[Fortunately, there seems to be a couple availabilities left within the spiral. The pickings are slim, but she figures they're all the same, anyway. Anything seems better than a cramped apartment, in any case.

[As usual, Rey is seen apparently "unarmed", but she's always far from defenseless. This is just a stroll through the neighborhood -- no need to dress down in full armor or anything.

[Nick's demeanor is contagious, as Rey can't help but feel somewhat uplifted herself when she sees him.]

Hey.

Any ideas where you want to go?

[She sort of does, but she'd like to check with her... well, her roommate first.]

[synthedick]

I thought we could start here. I took a look at the places that Delight set up a while back, but they're, er...

[His expression says he's not terribly warm on them.]

The living quarters are underground. Made me feel like I was headed into a Vault.

[And given he spent two weeks in one before his arrival in Hadriel, a city that itself is underground, he's not keen on that in the least.]

[circumitus]

[Rey makes a face as well, hinting that there's not much favor on the prospect. Considering how she had spent the first years of her life in an underground facility, she could do without the daily reminder. Living in a cave city is already bad enough.]

Would rather avoid something like that as well.

[She hadn't checked out the new housing setup yet, herself, but it's good to know.

[Then she glances around at the other houses in the spiral.] This place isn't so bad, anyway. I know a few people who live in this area.

[Meaning that she's visited it quite a bit.]

[synthedick]

[He raises an eyebrow, always interested in who knows who. It helps to make connections when the town is small.]

Yeah?

[He nods toward the first spiral.]

I'll let you lead the way, then. Let's see what's open.

[circumitus]

[Having visited this spiral enough times to remember who lives where at this point, she starts for the first vacant house she knows is still available.]

Yes. Could introduce you to them sometime, if you don't know them already.

[Rey knows how you make your rounds, Nick.

[Approaching one of the many oddly shaped houses, she glances to her friend.]

The two remaining houses here are identical, so if this one doesn't work out, we may as well look at the ones in the second spiral. I'm not picky, though.

[Hard to believe, I know.]

[synthedick]

Believe or not, I'm not hard to please, either. Places this nice just don't exist anymore where I'm from.

[Clean beds, sturdy walls, no radiation seeping in -- it's hard to believe that in some ways, Hadriel is nicer than the Commonwealth, but it's true.

He tries the handle, opening the door for Rey, since she's got a box in her arms.]

Hm. Not bad at all. Certainly bigger than that apartment.

[circumitus]

[If the wasteland Rey had been witnessed to in Nick's dream had been any indicator, she can believe him. While she can't say she's seen enough to know much about the world Nick hails from, she knows a nuclear disaster when she sees one. That's not something you overcome in one night, or even a few years.

[Taking a few steps inside the empty home, she sets the box down by the corner at the end of the short hallway, taking a gander at the interior design. It looks like what she expected, having been inside some of the four bedroom homes that were already occupied.]

It's almost a little too spacious. [Not that this is a bad thing. This place is even bigger than the two bedroom townhome where she used to live in Illinois.

[In spite of what she had just said, Rey folds her arms, her mouth curving.] It'll be perfect. If it works for you, that is.

[It's important that they agree on this.]

[synthedick]

[Nick closes the door behind him, following after Rey and taking a look around. Definitely more sizable than the apartment they were just in, and there's even a second floor. He's not sure just yet what they'll do with all the extra rooms, but he's sure something will come up. If Hadriel has proven anything, it's to expect the unexpected.

He looks to her -- there's that grin she could practically hear over the phone.]

I'd say it works for me just fine. This floor alone looks bigger than my entire agency back in Diamond City, and I couldn't ask for better company.

[He starts making the circle of the first floor, checking out the rooms for himself. In good news for Charlie, the bedrooms have windows. It looks like there's even a little balcony connecting the two bedrooms on the first floor.]

[circumitus]

[Whatever they'll be able to do with the extra rooms, Rey doesn't even know. At the very least, there's enough where they can both have their own privacy without even running into each other. Not that that's ever been a concern of Rey's.

[She ducks her head at Nick's compliment, waving a dismissive hand as she opens the door to one of the empty rooms and sneaks a peek inside. Stop that, dadbot! You're embarrassing her.]

I like it, and it's more than enough.

[Already she's thinking about what she can do with the extra rooms. Like converting one into a personal office, since Maketh wants her to do things like writing up reports now and everything.

[As she comes out of the downstairs bedroom, she casts a downward look.] Thank you for this, by the way.

[For not letting her leave, more accurately.]

[synthedick]

[He saw that response, Rey. He stops at the stairs, looking up them.]

No need to thank me. I think the arrangement works best for both of us.

[You help who needs help and all. And they could both use it, whether they admit it or not.]

I'll go grab my things from the old place, be back in a little while. You decide where you want to sleep at night, all right?

[circumitus]

[Knowing these two, they'll never admit it. But, also knowing them, there's no need for them to.]

Yes. [She says this in regards to the arrangement. It's a mutually beneficial one, in which they'll both get what they want out of it. That's something.]

All right. I'll hold the fort while you're gone.

[Though it seems Rey has already made up her mind where she wants to stay. Ground level, closest to the door. Most advantageous location in the event of home invaders, plus it's got a balcony. Nice.]

[synthedick]

[They might not see eye-to-eye on everything, but they have a lot of commonalities, bonds that hold them together. And having her around is almost like having family -- not like the sibling he isn't sure exists, but an honest connection of compassion between two beings with a lot of synth issues, two people who don't view themselves as such. There's a lot unspoken, but it's true: sometimes, the words don't need to be said for them to know what the other feels.

Nick makes quick work of his trip, and is back with Charlie and his few other possessions in tow. Seeing Rey has taken a room on the first floor, he considers taking the one next to her; however, he decides to mirror their old arrangement and heads upstairs. That will give her some space, and the top floor won't go completely empty. The balcony up there gives him a nice view of the streets, too. Good for his late-night watch.

He gets to work on making the bedroom on the left his own, shoving the bed against the wall to free up space. He's not going to be using it much, anyway.]

[circumitus]

[By the time Nick returns, Rey has already unpacked most of her belongings and is sorting them out in her room. It doesn't take very long, as she isn't one to fuss over details when it comes to her personal environment. If she's got a place of her own where she can linger and sleep, she'll be a happy camper.

[She won't be making much use of a bed, either, having pushed it into the corner of the room and considers just dissembling it altogether. Which she does. That way she can have more space without a useless piece of furniture that she doesn't even use. She'll figure out some way to sneak it out without Nick's noticing.

[Once Nick is done with his thing, Rey will be in the living area, seated in a rather peculiar position on the couch. Sitting with her legs hanging over the back of it and her head on the cushion, looking at the room from an upside-down angle. She really gives no fucks, her fingers entwined with her hands resting on her stomach.

[Nothing strange about this at all.]

[synthedick]

[Of course it isn't strange. It's just a position that seems uncharacteristically carefree for Rey, if you ask Nick.

Not that he's complaining as he meanders downstairs, having left his coat somewhere in his own room with the rest of his belongings. He's got his space ready to go upstairs, and she's got her room presumably set up downstairs; it didn't take long for the place to start feeling like a home, a place where the two of them can belong.

He joins her on the couch, taking the spot beside her, sitting the old-fashioned way.]

Enjoying the view?

[circumitus]

[Perhaps Rey is just feeling uncharacteristically carefree at the moment. It isn't often that she allows herself to just relax. Not just in general, but around someone else as well. Rather than her usual stiff postures, she's able to slowly ease into the comforts of her new structure.

[For once it seems like she actually has a place she can call home. Not a temporary arrangement, not a lonely quarters that means nothing more than a place with doors and walls. This is something else.]

Yes. [She nods, which is awkward from where she's sitting at the moment. Her eyes flick towards Nick as he seats himself next to her.] I think we've got something good here, and it's just... It's good.

[She feels good.]

[synthedick]

[Nick's eyes meet Rey's briefly before they return to the rest of the room, taking in the sight. It's a far cry from what he's used to, even considering the adjusting he's done the past several months. In Diamond City, he had his agency: dingy walls, a cramped space, and passing comments about how all synths ought to be blown to smithereens -- save for him, as he "wasn't like them other synths." It wasn't perfect, but it was his home for years.
His apartment in the Spire in Hadriel had been both an upgrade and a downgrade: there'd been a little more space and the place was immaculate compared to his abode in the Commonwealth, but it hadn't been much more than a place to stay, somewhere when he needed a quiet moment. It wasn't home.

And then he'd gotten a roommate, and it'd started to feel like a place he wanted to go back to each day. He didn't keep patrolling the streets long after his shifts were over just because he had nowhere but a lonely apartment to return to. He went back to his apartment because he had a reason to go there.

And that reason is in the house with him now. It's refreshing to feel needed, like he's doing someone some good, even if it's just one person. He might be helping others by patrolling, but it's rare he sees the results. With Rey, though... they're right there in front of him, in her tone and her posture.]

Yeah. This is good. It's not the Commonwealth, but that's not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all.

[circumitus]

[Though it may be hard to see from this perspective, Rey's mouth upturns into a small smile. But before she can make it known, she flips. Adjusting her position on the couch so that she's mirroring Nick's bearing. At least she's acting more like a civilized human being and less like a cavewoman.]

Suppose I only got to see a little bit of it. [She would hope that the home Nick lives in isn't just one big long wasteland and nothing else. It sounds like there was actual civilization on the surface world where he's from. People. Still, she can see where he's coming from.] What happened, exactly? You mentioned before about bombs dropping, but who did it?

[Assuming Nick would know, that is.]

[synthedick]

[Nick's brow knots; he can assume easily enough that Rey saw some of his world in his dream. No telling where or what she saw, but when it comes to the Commonwealth, well... there really isn't much that one would call civilization. Save for the occasional settlement, most of the wasteland is just that, especially the farther south one goes.]

No one knows who shot first, exactly. Some of the old ghouls who've been around since before the Great War say it was China. Others say it was us. Doesn't really matter who fired first, as we all ended up in the same, man-made hell.

[circumitus]

[Seeing what little Nick remembers about the Institute, chances are Rey would have a better idea as to what resides there. "Too bad" she didn't get to scope out the rest of what his world was like, as she has found herself undeniably curious.

[The scenario in which Nick describes isn't by any means an unfamiliar one to Rey, though. Humanity has done a fine job at digging its own grave over the eons, regardless of which side struck first.]

And... how long has it been since all of that happened?

[Again, her curiosity prevails.]

[synthedick]

Over two hundred years. It's a wonder anyone outside the Vaults managed to survive. Some parts of the country are still swimming with rads, as though the bombs fell only yesterday.

[One truth prevails: the world is never going to be the same as it was before, though given the threat of nuclear annihilation the Pre-War people faced, that's not entirely a bad thing.]

[circumitus]

Two hundred years? That's an impressive length of time for humanity to survive after such an event.

[She muses this over for a moment.] It's only been about... forty-five years where I'm from. [Well, it's a short time when you've lived as long as she has, anyway.] A few cities were able to return to the way things used to be, almost. Though other areas are left uninhabitable, thanks to similar radiation. Can't imagine that's going to go away anytime soon...

[synthedick]

Probably not. Folks will adjust. People are a lot stronger than some would think.

[Not that everyone in the Commonwealth is considered "people" anymore, but his point remains. That does bring him around to a question, though.]

You have many cities left in your world?

[circumitus]

Wouldn't doubt that.

[Nick is a walking testament to this fact, even if he is one of those that aren't considered people. But anyone who can live through a radioactive wasteland earns brownie points in Rey's book.

[She shakes her head.] Only a few. And the Webcap outbreak was a huge blow when the virus had been released into at least nine major cities. Chicago had been one of them.

[Meaning that the place she had considered home for the last four years? Gone now.]