[video] backdated to the 17th

[quixotically]

Okay, it should be on, so --

[The video starts with a close-up of the lower part of a face. But then, Elle leans back, and the rest of her face comes into view. She grins.]

Awesome! Man, this is cool. Er -- Hi! I just got here today. Name's Elle, Elle Days, I recently signed on as a guide, so I've got training starting pretty soon, but I wanted to try this thing out. [She holds up a hand and wiggles her fingers in a wave, her smile widening.] So, uh. Hi.

I guess I could say a few things about myself? Sure, alright. Um... Back home, I do work as a courier. Which, really, means I do a little bit of everything, not just delivering mail or whatever. Running, gunning, exploring, throwing rocks at deathclaws... Getting into trouble. That sort of thing. Uh... I live in a casino-slash-skyscraper thing with my friends. Anddd... My favorite drink is Nuka-Cola. Um.

[There's a beeping noise. Elle glances to her left, and her grin is back.] Right! And I didn't come alone. I brought a friend along for the ride. [She adjusts her communicator so that a robot comes into view.] This is ED-E. ["Eddie."] He's what we call an eyebot. He's like a floating radio with lasers. And, a few other nifty tricks. Say hi, buddy.

[The robot bounces in the air and makes more beeping noises, cheerful this time.]

Oh! [The feed refocuses on Elle again. She leans in closer.] And, uh. Boone? Are you watching this, too? This is where you ran off to, right? [She smiles sheepishly.] Sorry to crash the party. But, they offered, and, I mean, d'you really think I would've said no? [Cue nervous laughter.]

Anyway, uh. I look forward to meeting all of you! Thanks. Um. Now to stop the...

Comments

[thumbsdown]

[Snazzy, Jazzy, and Fuzzy. The thought makes him smile, just a little, but it soon fades.]

Can't really name the kitten myself. Someone else is gonna give it a home.

[He doesn't know Wander, so he can't tell if he'd stick to the theme or not. He's a little sad to think they're giving their baby away, though. Especially seeing how protective the father to be is.]

[quixotically]

Ohhhhh. [Like with puppies. She gets that. Baby anythings require a lot of care, and Boone and Niko are both busy with their work, right? So, it makes sense. Boone doesn't exactly sound too happy about it, though.

She studies his face for a moment.] Well... That's okay. That'll make it meaningful for the two of them to share, y'know? [She leans slightly to bump her shoulder against his.] Do you guys know who's it's gonna be yet?

[thumbsdown]

Wander's gonna take it. He's the short orange guy.

[He doesn't think Niko would give the kitten to a bad home, so he assumes it'll be happy enough with Wander. Still, he worries that it could cause some distress to the beasts when they find out their child is missing. At least they can visit sometimes.]

[quixotically]

Oh! I've talked to him. He seems really nice and happy. I'm sure the kitten'll have a lot of fun staying with him.

[But... Knowing what Elle knows about Boone, she knows that he's not just worried about the baby. And she doesn't know the cats well enough yet to be able to figure if they'd be alright.

... though... she has an idea.]

Do you guys have plans for Wander to come over and see the family? Before the kitten's old enough to go stay with him, I mean. That way, Snazzy and Jazzy can get to know him. [And if they know him, maybe they'll feel better about the kitten going to him, too.]

[thumbsdown]

No, we never planned anything like that.

[Maybe they should, but he's still not sure that would make the parents feel any better. At least the kitten would probably be better about it, though. After all, that way it wouldn't be handed off to a complete stranger.]

[quixotically]

I think that... maybe, it'd help. Maybe it'll make it easier on everybody, even just a little bit.

[She rubs behind Snazzy's ears. With the whole "breeding when food" thing, her normal suggestion for helping winning animals over doesn't quite work... And that'd take more time than they'd probably have for it to fully work, anyway, especially with the way Jazzy seems to be. So, she's suggested what she's been able to think of, at least.

She hesitates before asking this next question. She feels a little awkward, prying so soon after showing up, but... She's worried.] How have you been? With... all of this.

[thumbsdown]

[He frowns at the question. Truthfully? It's not always easy to watch the beasts together. Jazzy is so protective, and Boone feels like he should have been like that too. Nothing would get to Snazzy without having to get past him first, and he's sure the cat would fight tooth and claw before being beaten. He doesn't really know how to voice that without feeling awkward, though.]

Could be worse.

[Could be better, too. But considering the situation, he doesn't think he's doing too badly.]

[quixotically]

[Elle leans over again, but this time, it's more of a press of shoulders than a bump, and she stays there for a moment.] Okay, [she says softly. She nods a little.] Well... I guess that's good. [And here's a small, lopsided smile.]

You know... Now that I'm here, if you never need help with anything, the animals or... whatever, anything, you can just give me a call, right? You won't be bothering me.

[thumbsdown]

Yeah, I know. Thanks.

[He appreciates the show of support, especially since Elle isn't being pushy about getting him to open up. It's just not something he talks about much, with anyone. He can talk about Carla, but the baby is a more difficult subject.]

You plan on staying a while?

[quixotically]

I can, if you want. I mean, if I'm not here, then I'd be off exploring, and that can always wait. Especially if hanging around here means hanging around friends, y'know?

[Her smile grows on the other side.] And Iiii brought Fancy Lads. [Cue exaggerated eyebrow waggling.]

[thumbsdown]

[He actually meant staying at the resort in general, but he likes the idea of Elle hanging around his place for a bit so he doesn't correct her. It's been a while since he last saw her, after all.

Also, because Fancy Lads.]

Figured I'd miss those too, huh?

[Well, she's not wrong. You can get cakes similar to those here, but they're still not quite the same.]

[quixotically]

If you don't, I'll be very surprised. [Everybody likes Fancy Lads. It's a fact of life, okay?

She gets up and goes over to take her pack off and set it in a chair or something, so that it's easier for her to get into it. Not to mention that digging around will inevitably make some noise, and she doesn't want to disturb the cats too much by doing it in front of them.]

I made sure to pack as many as I could without smooshing the boxes too bad... I think I've got six? I brought some Nuka, too, if you want some.

[thumbsdown]

Sure.

[You can get better drink here at least, but he'll go for one anyway. He follows her over to the chair, and folds his arms as he watches her rummage around her pack.]

Guessing half of that is meds and food.

[quixotically]

You bet. And then a lot of the rest of it's ammo. Let's see... Aha!

[Finally, she emerges victorious with a box of Fancy Lads in one hand and a bottle of Nuka in the other. She grins broadly.]

[thumbsdown]

[Boone reaches out to take the Nuka off her, and takes a sip after opening it. He makes a face.]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I remember.

[He's been spoiled with the drinks here, clearly. Still, he's never really been one to waste food or drink so he heads into the kitchen with the bottle still in his hand.]

You want anything besides Fancy Lads? Got stuff in here, or I can get something from the spawner.

[quixotically]

[Elle laughs at the face he makes, and follows after him into the kitchen curiously.]

Nah, I'm okay. Though, I dunno... I'd love to see this spawner thing at work. [A beat.] Can it make Fancy Lads?

[thumbsdown]

Can only give you the stuff to make them with, I think.

[And since he doesn't know how to make Fancy Lads, he doesn't know what he'd have to ask the spawner for.]

You got any idea what goes into those things?

[He knows better than to think he could actually make them himself, but he's curious to see if the spawner could give them everything anyway.]

[quixotically]

Uhhhh. Well, I mean, it's like a cake, right? Lily tried to show me how to bake a cake before, I think I remember the basics... It's like. Eggs and brahmin milk and flour and stuff.

[A pause. Her grin starts to slowly grow.]

D'you wanna give it a shot?

[thumbsdown]

[He glances back at the spawner, then shrugs.]

Sure.

[He's assuming Elle will be doing most of the work though, because they both know Boone can't cook. He moves out of the way a little as he goes about asking the spawner for eggs, so that Elle can see it.]

Okay, so... eggs. Already got milk... don't have flour. Anything else?

[quixotically]

[Yeeeeeeah. Elle's very much the cook between them, but, uh. Even if they manage to successfully make something that looks like a cake, Elle doesn't know if it'll be any good, to be honest. She hasn't tried to make one from memory before. But, hey, it should be fun, at least, right??]

Butter? Oh! And sugar! [Elle peers around Boone at the spawner to see it go. This is really freakin' cool.] And, uh... Icing. And those little sprinkles...

[Things she's forgetting: baking soda, baking powder, vanilla extract. So, uh. Already, the cakes are gonna be... dense... and not with a whole lot of flavor... But hey, you know what, it could be worse. And it's probably going to be worse because Elle isn't sure she remembers... how much of everything goes into it...]

[thumbsdown]

[Once all the ingredients are on the counter, Boone steps back slightly to tilt his head at them. He didn't know how to get the sprinkles, but everything else is there.]

Huh. Okay, so what do we do now?

[He's never made a cake before. It's never occurred to him to try it. The best he can do is make mac and cheese from the box.]