Chapter 629 - Drinkscape

Afton continues walking around and eventually spots his next 'targets'... Karl was sat next to his daughter Caroline listening to Mr. New Vegas on the radio. Carlos didn't seem to be around anywhere, but that's probably more due to the current time than anything else.

"So, you guys hear the news then?" he asks while sitting next to the father-daughter duo.

Karl glances his way and nods while rubbing his Cybernetic leg. "Yeah, a new nation huh? Gotta say, I definitely didn't expect this when I found you runnin' from that Deathclaw. I am glad though, never woulda got my girl back from the Legion either."

Caroline looks to Afton, "You sure House can be trusted? I heard a bunch of things while serving the NCR and during my time with the Legion..." she looks left and right before leaning in, "Some say he's a zombie... Like, not a Ghoul, but a real zombie from the movies!" she quietly says.

Afton and Karl laugh at her accusation, knowing that House was either like the Think Tank scientists or some sort of AI designed to mimic the real House's personality. "I think a zombie would be far less eloquent than House currently is... Now, I'd believe you if there were more grunts and talk of eating brains... But..." he gives an exaggerated shrug.

"Most things people tell you directly are molerat-shit, you want the truth then you gotta investigate it yourself." Karl mutters.

"So, Caroline... You got any plans now that the war is basically over? I imagine that once Carlos is grown-up you'll need to find something to occupy your time." Afton asks, wondering what she wanted to do.

Caroline looks unsure at being asked this, "I don't know... The only career I've had was serving the NCR... Plus the labour I did as a slave, but... I'd rather not do that again..."

Afton nods, "And you won't have to ever again, but if you have something you want to learn or do, I could help you out with it... We aren't exactly lacking resources here." he jokes, gesturing at the rather out-of-hand party occurring behind him... Only now noticing that some chuckle-fucks thought it was a good idea to see who could drink two-hundred-year-old aged whisky the fastest. "OI! You ain't wasting my drink playing games you fucks! You want whisky then get it from the matter converters!" he shouts, causing the group to quickly vacate their position, fearing punishment.

"Well... I used to do woodwork as a hobby... But that was only in California... Good wood was hard to come by since most of it was mangled, knotted, and varied wildly in hardness and texture..." she trails off.

Afton is actually surprised by this... Carpentry wasn't exactly a sought after profession nowadays, and anyone who claimed to be a carpenter in the Mojave was regarded as a crazy person... After all, trees don't grow in the desert.

As for 'good wood' being expensive? That didn't actually surprise him... The amount of radiation released after the great war had irreversibly altered most plant life. Even the trees up in Jacobstown were absolutely covered in knots and burls, which were essentially just tree cancer. He remembered doing carpentry back in his past life and trying to work with knots, needless to say, he'd rather punch steel than try to make something from heavily knotted wood.

Back to Caroline's interest in the subject though, perhaps when the scientists had free time they could genetically create a few radiation-resistant trees that could thrive in the desert... The lack of water would be the main issue with that, but if he irrigated some areas then bringing colour to the Mojave might not be so difficult.

Plus, perhaps helping independent businesses like the one Caroline might make would be the key to raising the Mojave above everywhere else. He imagined that exporting proper newly made furniture would draw some attention, especially since most furniture used nowadays was two-hundred-years old...

Afton slowly nods at Caroline, "I'll have someone get to work on that, for now, we might be able to import some wood from Jacobstown if you'd like." he says, hoping for her to get some practice before potentially monetising it.

Her eyes light up at his offer as she eagerly accepts, Karl sending a grateful look his way.

With that, Afton gets up and moves to the next group of partygoers... But stops once he spots a large gathering of Cyberdogs... It looked as if they were having their own party, with many water bowls and bowls of meat laid out as if they'd planned beforehand... Though, he suspects Borous having a hand in this.

Shaking his head, he moves on and finally spots the people he was looking for. Boone is sitting with Shani, with Josie on the opposite side of the table, each with a beer in front of them. Afton falls into one of the free seats and interrupts their conversation.

"Yo, you guys having fun? I didn't even know there was a party until half an hour ago..." he admits while taking one of their half-finished drinks.

Josie shrugs, "It only started an hour and a half ago, so, you didn't really miss much."

"'I didn't miss much', which basically means you aren't enjoying yourself. Something wrong? Cuz, if you're bored I swear someone had installed some sort of karaoke machine over there..."

Josie shakes her head, "No, just saying it takes a while for the drinks to kick in. That, and I was waiting for someone." she adds, not making it hard to tell who she's referring to.

"Uh huh... So, talking bout anything interesting?" he says, changing the topic to avoid that subject.. At least, avoid it until his own drinks kick in, which, considering his mutations, might take a while.

Shani nods, "I. We, were discussing a dream I had... I wanted to hear their thoughts before I told you about it..." she sheepishly admits.