Whispers in the Wasteland

[Anasiel]

Caitlyn blinked when she saw the lighter. Why didn't she think of that? How hard would it have been to bring a lighter from the vault? Her train of thought was broken again though, at William's next statement. At the mention of him smoking, she frowned slightly. It wasn't an appealing trait for her, but she also had no room to judge. This man was essentially taking care of her until she could take care of herself; the last thing she wanted to do was get on his bad side over something petty. For what felt like the millionth time that night, she held her tongue.

Reaching into her bag, Caitlyn pulled out her blanket and wrapped it around her tightly before laying down a couple feet away from William. The fire was a pleasant relief from the cold and even as the weather worsened, Caitlyn was just thankful to have a heat source at all. Her sleepy thoughts of warmth were pushed aside at William's question though, and she directed her gaze up to the sky as well.

"Of course I do. I miss being able to go outside and not freeze to death or worry about food. I miss having a giant house to run around in instead of being shut in a bunker. But... I think the worst part is not having the people around. My family and friends... they're all gone. I could deal with the vaults and the wasteland if I could just have them again."

Her voice was fainter at the end, twinged with sadness. She didn't spend a lot of time thinking about the past; it just made her upset and when she was upset, she couldn't get work done. At least, that's how she handled it in the vault. There was no time for sadness when people relied on you.

"What about you? Where did you come from, anyway? I mean, before the war."

 

[GwynnRosen]

William hesitated. His past wasn't exactly something he really liked to talk about. Though he reckoned he could spare her the sob story and just answer the basics- and so, he did. "Well, I was born into a middle-class family in Seattle along with my brother. We weren't rich but we were comfortable, I loved our old house. It was always warm and it wasn't entirely and beautifully clean all the time but that made it feel more lived in. My mom was a stay-at-home parent and my dad... I don't remember. He wasn't home much. Though I was told he was a good man, so don't think harshly of him. My brother, James, was a good guy. We're were really different from each other. I was always the troublemaker and he kept me in line. Sacrificed a lot for me, actually. I look back and regret some of the things I put him through, but what I hate most is that sometimes it seems I haven't learned my lesson even after all the shit I've been through. When we went to war together, I vowed to myself my brother would live as long as I was around. And you know, Caitlyn, I broke that vow. It wasn't my intention. None of what I did went as intended. I made a mistake like I always do, and I watched James die. Out of the two of us, I feel as if I should have been the one to perish that day," William spoke, voice strained.

It appeared he'd told her more than he had wanted to. For whatever reason, he was unsure, but he hoped she wouldn't dwell on it. Will didn't want to speak anymore about the loss of his family. "But I know what you mean. I'd give anything to reclaim the life I had before I was fifteen," he finished.

The twenty-five year old cleared his throat, and side-glanced over at Caitlyn to see her reaction or any sign or disturbance on her facial expression; there was none. Slightly relieved, he said something that shocked even him. "You know that thing you said? About not having anyone around? You have me... I don't expect you take that seriously but I do. I understand I haven't exactly proven myself as a decent person but I try. I don't know how long you're planning to stay with me but if you don't think you can handle the world the way it is I'm here step by step. I've never had many people myself, so, I feel like protecting you will somehow redeem my failure with my brother. I don't know. Just know that if you need me for anything, I'm here."

William looked at the ground for a moment before rolling on his side, back turned to Caitlyn- he was a little afraid of her response. And it bothered him. It bothered him that he was afraid. Dammit, he hadn't even known this girl long and she was already getting beneath his skin. Another thing that irritated him is that he still wanted to wrap his arms around her and it wasn't just because it was so cold tonight and he was worried about her well-being. Will shivered, and remembered all he had now was his jacket; he'd forgotten to get the blanket in his bag but he didn't want to move. It would take him a while to sleep.

 

[Anasiel]

Caitlyn wasn't sure how to respond to everything that William had said, in regards to his brother and his family. Part of her wished she hadn't pried into his personal matters, but the other half was glad that she did. She was starting to understand why William acted the way that he did. When he brought up his brother's death and clearly blamed himself though, she felt a lump in her throat. She wanted to say somethin, to console William in some way, but she didn't know how to without making it worse. So she remained silent. And when William surprised her again by revealing his decision to protect her....well, that time she felt a wave of warmth through her that had nothing to do with the fire.

Knowing that William was done with the conversation, Caitlyn quietly concluded it, "Thank you, William."

She smiled faintly as William rolled over and she rolled over to her side as well. After everything that had happened that day, she had plenty to think about and it took her a while before she finally drifted off to sleep.

 

[GwynnRosen]

It was early in the morning by the time William finally woke up- actually it was a bit too early. The crack of dawn. Though he hadn't woken up under his own intentions; nightmares were frequent for Will as he had insomnia and such. It explained why it takes him a little over an hour of laying there before he finally gets to sleep. Though his dreams were vivid, and that didn't help concerning his dreams were almost never pleasant. Sitting up quickly with a startle, he breathed heavily and looked around to make sure he wasn't still covered with warm, sticky red liquid otherwise known as blood.

Blinking rapidly, his foggy vision finally focused on the girl laying there not too far beside him. Calming himself down, William gave a dragged sigh and his muscles lost their tenseness as he relaxed. Sitting up more comfortably, he found the morning was particularly warm. The fire had long since gone out, he noticed. Standing up, he walked over to his bag and pulled out something small to eat, his hunger nagging at him too much for his little patience to handle.

Will couldn't decide on whether or not he wanted to wake Caitlyn. By the time he'd finished eating he figured they had some time left before they needed to pack up and keep on with their journey, so he let the blonde sleep. In the meantime, he occupied himself with whatever he could fine. Which happened to be a stick and some dirt. In a few moments a horrid drawing was found in the dirt and William snorted. "What the hell," he said, the amusement in his voice evident.

Sometimes, the man seemed more like a child. The youthfulness and laughter in his eyes never failed to aid in that thought.

 

[Anasiel]

It was a a while before Caitlyn woke up. Years spent living in a safe vault gave her the luxury of a restful sleep, free of concerns. When she finally did wake, she was refreshed, particularly so since she had the fire keeping her warm that night. She smiled sleepily at William and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Good morning."

Her eyes then fell onto the stick he was holding and then to the dirt. William didn't seem like the type to doodle, given how serious he always was. "What are you doing?" She asked with curious amusement.