Shoot for the Moon (closed)

[Interstellar Bun]

It was that beautiful time of day when the sun hung low in the sky and painted it beautiful colors of orange and purple. Through the cracks in the building, he could see the sunlight streaming through, casting long awkward shadows in the rooms and making the halls seem longer than ever.


He tried to move relatively quietly, his steps long and slow, boots making dull thuds on the floorboard. His rifle was slung over his back, bouncing against him slightly as he peered through the rooms. The first few floors had been eerily quiet and, well, he was smart enough to know that wasn't the best sign in the world. His hand twitched, ready to grab his gun or go for his side arm at any sound, any breath that didn't belong to him. He wouldn't shoot first and ask questions later, that wasn't his style, but like hell would he be caught unarmed out in the wastes.


He lifted his hand, adjusting the brim of his hat as he turned a corner.


It was the sound that hit him first, then the sound, and finally he realized that he had been shot. The pain hadn't hit him, not yet, but he grabbed the hole that oozed blood on his shoulder anyway and took a stumbling step back.


Lawrence looked down at it, then back up to the person who had decided it would be a good idea to fill him with lead.


"Now what in the Sam Hill did you have to go and do that for?" His voice was a higher pitch than usual, bordering on both shocked and moderately offended.

 

[LeoLion98]

Well, that went horribly wrong. In all fairness, he had just finished fighting off a group of Raiders, so he really did expect more of them. So, when he heard noise and Farsight started to growl, he got a little... Carried away.


Johnny's eyes went wide when he saw who he had shot. He certainly didn't look like a Raider, but that didn't mean he wasn't. The man held his pistol at the ready as his four dogs all slunk around he corner after him. Their ears were low as the observed the stranger, but they did not attack yet, only because he held out a hand to make them wait. He didn't want to have to kill this man if he didn't have to.


"I thought you might be a Raider. And I still don't know if you are actually, so, uh," He moved the gun he held a little. "Yeah... Are you one?"

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Even if I was, would ya kill a man who isn't pullin' a gun on you?"


The pain was starting to finally hit him, fire bubbling in his arm. It was as though someone were jabbing an electric baton covered with salt into his wound. He grimaced, two gold teeth just next to his canines shining in the low light. Had he not been shot a dozen times before, he would have been going into shock.


His vision faltered and he hadn't even realized he took a step back until he was leaning against the far wall, his gun digging awkwardly into his back.


"No, not a Raider, just a guy in a blindin' bit of pain at the moment."

 

[LeoLion98]

"Well, no, but-" he stopped mid-sentence as the other man teetered into the wall.


Crap, crap, crap, crap. He put his gun away and ran over to him, his pack following behind, no longer threatening. The man reaches down towards the canine with feathers in his fur and red eyes. He looked a lot like a Legion mutt. The dog turned so that Johnny could dig around in his pack, eventually pulling out a med kit. The other three dogs watched a few steps away, but their ears and noses were on alert for any sign of danger.


"Here, let me help. It is kinda- or rather it's definitely my fault, so I probably ought to, you know, help." He pressed his lips together in a tight line. "I'm gonna shut up and just, yeah."


He motioned for the man to sit down on the floor so that he could operate better, and so he didn't have to keep bending over to get the supplies he needed. Sure, Farsight could probably hand him some stuff, but there were also needles and other sharp things in there. He didn't want the dog to stab himself accidentally, no matter how smart he was.

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"It's alright, calm down there friend." As he spoke the words he lowered himself down, his back sliding against the wall as he eased onto the ground. His hat fell awkwardly off his head, landing next to his leg. "Not the first time I've been shot and it sure as hell won't be the last. Well, I hope it won't at least, as odd as that sounds."


He chuckled a little, wincing when the action made his arm burn. His vision danced with dark spots, making him shut his eyes and grind his teeth for a moment.


"I like your dogs." The comment was an idle one, something given before he tried to focus back on the man once more. "So who are you, if you don't mind me askin' of course. I don't wanna impose."


The idea that he was striking up a conversation with the guy who just shot him didn't really strike Lawrence as odd. If he didn't make friends with people who assaulted him then he wouldn't have any friends at all.

 

[LeoLion98]

Johnny helped him slide down, then set about working on the bullet wound. He bit his lip as he concentrated, looking worried. Really, the wound wasn't so bad overall, at least it didn't look like it would for sure kill the guy. But he was still concerned because of how much pain the older man was in.


He looked up from the wound to reply, suddenly seeming a lot less nervous. "Thanks. This one's Farsight," he said, gesturing to the one who had had the med kit in his bag. The mongrel was staring directly at Lawrence a few inches away in a rather unnerving way. "That one's Bullets." He chin pointed to the grey mutt who wagged his tail at he mention of his name. "The one who looks like he just fought off a super mutant is Shrapnel." The beat up dog similar in appearance to Bullets flicked his ears but nothing more. "And that last one is Mezcal." The coyote barked quietly and returned to guard duty.


Finally, the young man introduced himself. "You're fine. I guess you kinda deserve to know the guy who shot you huh?" He chuckled weakly but quickly grew awkward and stopped. "I'm Johnny Gibson. I would say that it's nice to meet you, but uh, I'm currently cleaning a bullet wound in your arm that I caused so... It-it could be better, I guess."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

"Johnny, huh?"


That was a little weird. Most people went with John rather than Johnny. It sounded so young. Well, then again, people also went by names like Rail-Road so Lawrence couldn't judge too much, not that he would. Though it did leave him wondering just how young the man was.


He didn't swear as Johnny worked on his wound, nor did he really wince. He just grit his teeth and took the pain, feeling it crawl up his neck and linger in his spine.


"Nah it's mighty fine to meet you one way or the other, Johnny. Time I met my best friend she was wounded as well and swearin' up a storm at me for tryin' to help, so this ain't much worse." He managed another smile, something all too genuine in his expression despite the blood that still oozed slowly from the open wound, staining his shirt. "And since I suppose you wanna know the guy you've shot; I'm Lawrence, Lawrence Goodnight."


He shifted a little, unable to help it.


"What are you doin' out here anyway? Don't see much kind folk like yourself in this area."

 

[LeoLion98]

He gave a small smile. "I guess that's kinda how a lot of people meet, huh? Someone's always getting shot by someone else," he added in a quiet mumble, half amused with himself and half serious.


Lawrence wasn't the only one who thought the other's name was strange. Goodnight wasn't a surname Johnny ever heard before, nor had he expected to. But he had similar thinking as the sniper: there were weirder names out there, so this one wasn't so far out there.


"So I guess it is nice to meet you then, Lawrence." He nodded at his dogs. "Boys, say hello."


All four barked simultaneously and went back to what they had been doing previously.


"Uh, in the sense of this building here, we're looking for supplies. We thought this building was empty but obviously not."

 

[Interstellar Bun]

The dogs barked and Lawrence looked genuinely pleased, chuckling softly.


"Smart dogs."


There was a beat in which he grew quiet, listening for a moment to the building around them. In the distance, he could hear the softest sounds of something. Well, that was a little worrisome considering his good arm was out of commission, but it wasn't really all that surprising. If both he and Johnny had thought to check the place out, someone else would have as well. The slamming of doors a few floors below assured him that, yeah, he hadn't just been hearing things. They weren't alone.


He huffed a little. "Well, if my arm isn't lookin' too bad, maybe we should try and get to a more defensible area. Somethin' tells me our luck isn't gonna take a turn for the better just yet."


His free hand went to his hip holster, pulling his backup pistol.


"Are you good in a fire fight, Johnny?"

 

[LeoLion98]

The pack seemed to be pleased by his comment, but only for a moment. The tribal dog perked his ears up at the same time as Lawrence grew quiet, always five-steps ahead of even his master. All four then began to quietly growl.


Johnny was also aware of another person -- or persons -- presence, and was not at all happy about it. In fact, he was really worried. He had gotten out of scrapes before with his dogs. Heck, had gotten out of them without his dogs before. But there was now an injured man to worry about. Lawrence may be capable, but he was still kinda one arm short.


The young man looked over the other's wound. "I think you might be okay? You probably shouldn't move it too fast, but it should at least, you know, work."


He stood up and offered a hand to Lawrence. "Uh, yeah, kind of. I mean, I'm not gonna accidentally shoot you again. So, I'll be fine."


Probably.