A/N: On to day two! I still don't own fallout and their affiliated characters but Calli is still mine and I can do whatever the hell I want with her!
Vulpes
Vulpes eyes shot open the next morning and he grabbed the throat of his attacker, pulling his ripper out from under his pillow and slamming it into their skull. Or… he would have. If his attacker hadn't been a now terrified looking Calli holding a used Stimpack in her hands. Vulpes growled and released her, putting his ripper away. She stumbled back a few feet and stared at him in shock, appearing to attempt to come to terms with what had just happened. Apparently the pinching and burning he had felt was the ignorant woman trying to help him, not kill him.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked in a raised voice. He gave her a weary look and inspected the area she had injected him with her filthy chems. He would have to explain his… aversion to them today at some point. Unless she wanted to try this again tomorrow morning and become his ripper's new sheath.
"Don't do that again woman." He said in a growl as he rubbed the injection sight on his arm. She glared at him and crossed her arms.
"Thank you for helping ma Calli. Thank you for trying to heal me faster Calli. SORRY FOR ALMOST KILLING YOU CALLI." She said angrily as she got in his face. "Try and do that again and it won't be pretty for you Vulpes. I can promise you that." She said with a glare as she grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet. He gave her a shocked look as he almost fell out of the bed and glared at her.
"Woman just what the hell do you think you're doing?!" He asked angrily. She hauled him down the hallway and almost kicked open the door to a small bathroom. There was a toilet, a sink, and a tub that looked about half full of water.
"We're giving you a bath. You smell like your personality right now and I can only handle so much from you." She said as she unwrapped him and practically shoved him into the warm water, splashing as he went down. He composed himself and saw an empty pot near the door and figured she must have heated the water in the kitchen and brought it in here. She poured a clear, clean smelling substance onto a cloth and started scrubbing his skin roughly while muttering obscenities under her breath.
Vulpes almost snarled as he tried to snatch the cloth away from her. "I can wash myself wench. Cease at once!" He said indignantly. She moved the cloth out of his reach and slapped him on the back of the head.
"Stop or you'll tear your wounds open again you stubborn Brahmin." She said as she resumed washing his aching back. He looked away from her with a glare as she washed him and thought of all the ways he would enjoy killing her later. He was a fan of crucifixion but a good flogging was always a game winner. When she was done with his back she threw the cloth in his face and stood up, a disgusted look on her face. In that moment Vulpes realized something. Decapitation was climbing the list swiftly.
"You reek," She said as she glared down at him, "Wash yourself. I'll be back for you in ten minutes. If you're not clean by then, you'll be sitting in the room until I say otherwise." She said as she dried her hands off on a towel and left the room.
He scoffed as she left and he felt his anger flare up. As much as he hated admitting it, he was injured. And this profligate wench considered him little more than an invalid. He made quick work of washing himself, making sure to be careful around the healing wounds that covered his front, before he let the dirty water in the tub drain. A knock on the door signaled her return and as she entered, he sent a glare her way that could make a Cazador drop from the sky.
"Don't presume to touch me profligate." He said as he shakily stood. She leaned against the door frame, holding a small bundle of what appeared to be clothes, and watched as he grabbed the towel from the floor and dried himself off slowly. He moved carefully so as not to open his fast healing wounds before he wrapped the towel around his waist. Perhaps using the woman's Stimpack wouldn't be a bad solution to his problem. If he continued to use them and healed at this rate, he could return to the legion as soon as tomorrow and continue to heal there.
His balance was still a tad bit shaky but he decided to try and get to his room on his own, despising the profligate in front and her smug facial expression. He tried to step out of the tub and slipped on the slick tile that surrounded him. Calli dropped the clothes and rushed forward, managing to catch him before he hit the ground and hurt himself. As she helped him stand, he practically pushed the woman away with an icy glare.
She rolled her eyes and scoffed at him, grabbing the clothes off the floor. "Fine. Walk on your own. But if you fall this time, you're going all the way down and I will laugh at you as you go." She said as she stepped out of the way. He slowly walked past her and back to the room, almost shutting the door in her face as she tried to follow him.
"Ugh, fine you ass! Take care of yourself!" She said in a frustrated growl as she dropped the clothes and stormed away. He opened the door and grabbed the clothes before closing it again. He examined his new wardrobe and raised an eyebrow. The clothes consisted of a pair of soft pants and a t-shirt, the material was light and as he pulled it on, he felt relieved that it didn't stick to his wounds that he had neglected to have Calli wrap before sending her away.
Calli
Calli stormed down the hallway and into her kitchen. She paced around muttering curses to herself before finally sitting on the couch and gnawing at the skin around her thumb nail. This man was infuriating! Never had she been asked to help someone who lacked even the most basic respect for other people and their homes. He had only been awake for about a day and she already felt more inclined to kill him than heal him.
She picked up the book she was reading with a sigh and opened it to the page she had left off on. She read a few words before her mind started wandering. Why was she even helping him? He obviously didn't want to be here and if he was going to be like this until he left, she didn't want him here.
She furiously turned the page of her book and cursed when she looked at the next one and realized she hadn't read a single word from the last page. She slammed the book closed and walked out of the house and into her yard. Maybe going into town would help her clear her head of the man who had decided to spend the day pouting like a toddler.
As she walked down the dirt path toward the town, she saw a group of men gathered in front of the bar. As she approached, she heard them talking loudly about something. She walked into the small general store and greeted Marnie, a worried looking elderly woman who sat behind the counter holding her revolver in her hands.
"Morning Marnie… what's going on out there?" She asked as she nodded out the door. She grabbed some rubbing alcohol off the shelf and some bandages to go with it. The older woman looked outside and sighed.
"Well the young courier lad came back from your house in quite the tizzy yesterday. He said something about how you were helping a monster and that we needed to get the NCR before he killed you." She said. Calli gave the woman a surprised look and Marnie kept looking outside.
"When we finally had him calmed down enough to get him to tell us what was going on, he said that the man was some famous Legion assassin and that the NCR has a bounty out on his head. The men are all out there trying to decide if they go up there and drag him out or if we should send for the NCR first and see what they have to say about the whole thing." Marnie said. Calli looked shocked for a moment as a jolt of fear shot through her. He was what?! Her mind raced before she set the products on the counter, coming to a decision. He needed her help.
"That Vulpes guy? He left late last night." She lied easily. "I had no idea he was that dangerous. Explains why he didn't say anything when he was here." She said calmly. She was impressed with her ability to lie. She never really had any reason to lie so the fact that she was saying all this so easily was rather surprising. Wait… why was she lying to her friend in the first place? She didn't even like this guy and now she was lying to the woman who helped raise her? Marnie looked surprised before she smiled.
"Well that's quite the relief. I'm glad you're safe up there." She said. Callie handed the woman her caps and smiled.
"I trust you'll call off the dogs then? Even if this is the biggest thing to happen here for a while, I don't need a bunch of angry men on the war path in my living room." She said with a laugh. Marnie smiled brightly and she couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as the woman nodded.
"Of course dear. Have a nice afternoon." She said as Callie started heading toward the door. Callie smiled at her and nodded. As she left the store, one of the men noticed her and started walking toward her before Marnie appeared in the door of the store and called her husband over. Callie watched as she told Dave Calli's lie and he visibly sighed in relief. She could barely hear him tell the men surrounding the store to go home before she got out of ear shot and sighed.
As she entered her house, she was surprised to see the door to Vulpes room was wide open. She walked over slowly, placing the bandages and the alcohol on the table as she did so. She heard him snoring gently as she approached and when she looked into the room, she saw him lying on his bed with a peaceful look on his face. She walked into her bedroom and grabbed two more Stimpacks from her dresser before walking back into Vulpes room and taking a deep breath. She held one in each hand before she quickly injected the serum into his arms. He grunted and his eyes shot open, locking on her in an instant before he tackled her with his knife at her throat.
"I warned you profligate." He said as he raised it above his head and prepared to strike her down.
"I know who you are." She said quickly. He paused and glared at her.
"So you do the one thing I told you not to do. Intelligent." He said as he went to bring the blade down again. She shot her hand up and caught his wrist, using her legs to flip the over so she was on top of him. She twisted his wrist hard and sent his ripper sliding across the hardwood floor. She looked down at him and glared. She had both of his arms pinned to the floor above his head and her hair hung in a curtain around their faces.
"The people in town know who you are too. They were planning on coming up here and dragging you to the NCR for that nice little bounty on your head." She said as he lay beneath her, his eyes narrowed and she could swear she saw the depths of hell in them.
"And so you're going to bring me in, is that right?" He asked as she lowered herself onto him, relaxing a bit and releasing her grip on his hands. She shook her head and lifted his shirt to look at his wounds. She sighed in relief as she saw the skin and muscle slowly healing and reattaching.
"No. I'm going to help you get out of here before they come after you. I may not like you, but you're my patient and I'm going to help you." She said as she got off him. He held out a hand to help him up and waited for him to grab it. He narrowed his eyes at her and grabbed her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet.
"And how do you plan to do that?" He asked as he grabbed his blade and sat on the bed. She walked to the dresser and grabbed the clothes he had arrived in, now fixed thanks to her. She handed them to him and motioned for him to get dressed.
"Tonight we're going to leave. I'll escort you to make sure you don't get yourself into more trouble by reopening your wounds. The Stimpacks may have healed you for now, but its very easy to open them again." She said as she turned around, giving him privacy to change. She stiffened as she felt his blade at her throat and his chest at her back.
"And what makes you think I need the help of a filthy little profligate whore like you?" He asked in a low growl. She stiffened and narrowed her eyes.
"Because I'm the only one of us who knows how to avoid the monsters that surround this town. And an injured Legionary with a god complex is useless without the proper knowledge to get you out safely." She said calmly. She felt his body stiffen for a moment and she knew she had him.
Sure, she could just tell him about the tunnels that they would be taking, making it so she didn't have to leave. But she had a sinking feeling that once she did, he would kill her and leave her for the town's people to find. This way she would be able to make sure no one got hurt. He released her and growled.
"Very well. But be warned, If you try to cross me, even once, your crucified remains will be an example to all that reside in this town." He said as he stepped away. She nodded and fought the shiver of fear that threatened to bring her to her knees.
"Of course. The trip will take a couple of days just to get out of the valley so prepare for a long journey." She said as she moved to leave the room. He turned to her with an unamused expression.
"Valley? There's no valley near Novac." He said. She laughed a bit before looking him in the eye.
"Oh. You're serious." She said. "I guess many Wastelanders don't know about us. This valley is only accessible through the mountains. Either you try to go over and you certainly die, or you manage to find your way through the tunnels and find a quiet little town of about five hundred." She said. "Our traders know the tunnels like their own homes. No one else really knows how to get to and from." She said as she went to walk out of the room to pack a bag.
She walked into her room and he followed, keeping close eyes on her. She pulled a pair of black pants and a light blue t-shirt out of her dresser before grabbing a bag from the top drawer. She started to shove things into the bag before she paused. She looked up at him and held up a finger before exiting the room.
Vulpes
He sat on the woman's large bed and waited anxiously for her to return. When she did, she had his pack in her hands. He shot up and grabbed the bag from her hands, inspecting it. He had figured whatever attacked him had made off with it. He found his Legion armor inside and his Legion currency. Nothing seemed to be out of place and he glared at her as she resumed packing clothes and medical equipment.
"Where did you find this?" He asked, she glanced over at him as he pulled his legion armor out and started changing, eager to get out of these Wastelander clothes. She looked away quickly and grabbed some Stimpacks and radaway, shoving them into her bag on top of her clothes.
"It was given to me at the same time you were. That courier gave it to Dave with instructions not to open it. Just put it in my hall closet and forgot about it." She said, looking down. When she looked back up at him, he was in full armor, minus his helmet and sunglasses. He narrowed his eyes at her and sat on the bed again, impressed by how much his condition had improved with those Stimpacks.
"So were you planning to keep it once I had left?" He asked as he watched her zip her bag. She glared at him and scoffed.
"Oh yes, because that skirt you're wearing would really compliment my eyes." She said as she rolled her eyes at him. He glared at her and his hand went to his ripper.
"Watch your tongue profligate. I may not kill you yet but I'm more than willing to hurt you and teach you your place." He said as she slug her pack into the corner of the room.
"Yea yea Vulpes. I get it. How about a 'Thank you' every now and then? It's not like I'm dropping everything to help you here." She said as she drew the curtains in the room. She walked out of the room as he opened his mouth to reply and he growled, getting up to follow her.
"And why is that? What do you plan on gaining from this, woman?" He asked, almost in a distasteful hiss. He stood in the door of her bedroom as she closed her front door and drew all the curtains in the room.
"Maybe I don't want anything from you. Maybe I was raised to help people in need, no matter how fucked up they are. And maybe I'm resenting that upbringing at the moment." She said as she turned into the kitchen and started packing up some fruit and dried meats. He almost laughed at that. The thought of a profligate whore risking her life to help him for free was almost endearing. But he wasn't stupid enough to believe that. He figured he would discover her true intentions later on.
She walked back into the hallway and pushed him into the bedroom, closing the door. "We need to get some rest. The second the sun sets, were making a run for the tunnels." She said as she pulled the covers back on her bed, climbing in and motioning for him to lay on the floor. "See you soon." She said as he lay down, falling asleep rather easily.
A/N: Another chapter done! Isn't Callie nice? Read and review! *Muah*