Conservation instincts, and the men lacking them.

[Flafla]

[]
[[Location: Jack Rabbit Springs]]

Edgar awfully missed his little cardboard cot in Freeside.
Especially when he delved knee-deep in Jack Rabbit Springs' irradiated water, trying to sneak past Centaurs and Super Mutants and god-knows-what-the-hell-were-those-things-swimming-by, before alerting an Evolved Centaur by sneaking too close.

And, of course, his failed stunt attracted the entire flock of the horrid abominations, and the Glowing One had to retreat. To run. Run like hell, backwards, stumbling in circles as he readied his dart gun to poison the things and at least slow their chase.

Really, what made him think that crossing the springs would be even a remotely valid shortcut to Nipton? Seriously?

Congrats Ed, he thought bitterly as he aimed and shot at the nearest Centaur--and nearly missed because of his shaky hands, you can hack an entire Vault's computer collection but you can't even pick a decent shortcut. Way to go.

Oh yes. He missed his little cardboard cot in Freeside. Even if it was cold, sometimes damp, and that it provided no protection against the local thugs or the occasional NCR troopers or Kings.

He still missed the damnable piece of cardboard that was his current home.

[Falco]

Gil hadn't been expecting to see anybody, let alone somebody who was apparently attacking all the mutants at the Springs. That certainly didn't happen often, and he readied his service rifle with a grimace--here was a dilemma. Go down there and help out, while risking his own partially decaying hide, or stay up here and watch? Well, he could maybe take some shots from up here on his hill. Giving a frustrated noise, he rolled his eyes at the unfortunate adventurer and dropped into a crouch, taking aim for the centaur the other was attacking. Was he really about to go ahead and do this? This could get unnecessarily unpleasant real quick.

A few seconds later, there was the loud clap of gunfire, and a bullet embedded itself in the centaur's shoulder.

He really hoped this was worth it.

[Slinky]

Where there was gun fire, there was people and that made Riley hesitant to proceed. Nipton lay behind him, the fires that had burned it to the ground extinguished by the desert's winds. He had hoped to find his bounty there, a Hispanic woman named Arlene Renner but it seemed she had been lost to the destruction of the town or scattered to the winds by it.

That was fine by him, aggravating, but fine. Harder targets had been tracked down and captured before. The gun fire had been what had drawn him to a collection of irradiated pools of water but not close enough so that he would be affected, taking shelter behind a nearby rock. and drawing out his Geiger counter. Good, he was safe here.

Tucking the instrument back into his satchel, he heard the gargling death 'scream' of a Centaur. Whoever was firing was still alive and a good shot to kick. With no headcount of enemies in his head he stuck to his position for either one of the two to do the other in. Why waste his ammo?

[Flafla]

The loud popping of the centaur's shoulder took Edgar by surprise, and he had to quell his reflex of wanting to see where did the gunshot come from. Not that it didn't matter, but he had more pressing matters at hand.
Like finishing off the wounded centaur with another shot of the poisoned darts--aiming for the eyes sounded like a brilliant plan--and stepping back.

Then he gave himself the luxury of seeing to whom he owed a word of thanks.

"...Are you alright?"

He was almost definitely asking the most obvious question, since the NCR soldier--the ghoulifiying/i] NCR soldier, to be more precise--obviously had seen better days, judging by how he was practically sprawled in the irradiated water.
But he had just given an abomination a good blow even in his state, so he ought to give him credit.

And that was in part why he made a run for the bigger and younger ghoul. Besides, in a strategic point of view, they could maybe gather their own forces and just....

....Run for it before the centaurs flocked??

[Falco]

"No, I'm just peachy keen up here. Water's fine, those freaks down there are my best buddies. S'damn paradise!" Gil snapped, rolling his eyes. "Th' fuck's it look like? Ain't exactly a holiday vacation spot, is it?" Inwardly, he cringed at how rough his voice sounded, though he managed to pull off a scowl directed at the other ghoul. That first shot had alerted another centaur, and he pushed himself up with a grunt, taking aim once more and firing at the new attacker before scrambling to his feet. He was more than a little lightheaded at the moment, and the sudden movement made him stumble a bit as he backed up to put a bit more distance between himself and the centaur. It was looking to be high time to get out of here, and maybe with this new person here, Gil might have a shot of getting out of the Springs alive. It was worth a shot, anyway.

"C'mon, let's--" He was cut off by a gob of centaur--what was that even, spit? Wasn't like he knew--projective landing far too close to his head for his liking. "Just get movin!" With that, he'd grab Ed's arm and jerk him away, starting to make a break towards one particularly large rock not so far away. Unbeknownst to him, the spot was already occupied by an observer; he wasn't going to be very pleased when he found that out.

[Slinky]

He could sneak no closer and get a peek at his potential quarry but with the volume of their voices he need not. Two Ghouls, judging by the coarse texture of their voice that was unique to irradiated humans. So, neither of them were his target unless Ms. Renner has somehow under gone ghoulification in the past 48 hours. "God damn," he hissed, raking his claws down the rock, frustrated by this sudden stroke of bad luck.

It was about to get even worse he soon discovered as two sets of footsteps came toward his hiding place. There was no nearby cover to roll to and hiding any longer would be a sure fire way to get shot; so he stood up, focusing on the two Ghouls scampering away from the pools toward him with a Centaur trailing behind them, it's long tongue lashing back and forth at the air. Nasty things they were to all of his five senses and with a curt "DUCK!" to the two men fleeing, he brought it down with three quick shots to the head.

[Flafla]

"Well gee," Ed found himself snapping back, even as he was yanked by the ghoul to make a run for it--mind yourself, this is NOT the time to be picking a petty fight--"I was just wondering if you were born that ugly or ifFFFUUCK--!"

And that was when Centaur spit--yes, that very gob the NCR Ghoul dodged--collided with the back of his head, making an alarming sizzling noise as the acid ate through his headgear. Jesus, that shit stung.

See, Ed? That's why you don't pick fights while running for your life, so behave from now on, okay?

His brain talked far too much, but thankfully the Glowing One drowned its chatter just as he ducked to the side, catching a glimpse of a strange-looking man shooting their abominable assailant down.

[Falco]

Where the hell had that other guy come from? Sure, that didn't really matter all TOO much right now, what with the small horde of mutants just over the hill, but he'd be a bit more concerned with it later. As it was, he dove behind the rock, trying very hard to ignore the fact that he'd just left another chunk of his face behind. Gil made the executive decision to ignore Ed's retort, instead readying his rifle again and propping his elbows on one of the more level spots of the rock. He didn't see any other centaurs yet, but that didn't mean that their super mutant masters wouldn't come along after them--or that maybe there'd be one of those really big ones yet to come. He didn't want to take any chances, that much was for certain. Gil grumbled under his breath about 'stupid goddamn civilians always getting into trouble' for a moment, shaking his head and casting a brief glare in Ed's direction. Riley wasn't even spared a glance just yet; though he'd certainly get his fair share of staring when the trooper noticed just what he was. There were currently more important things on his mind right now, mostly being how to get out of this without being eaten by mutants. He hadn't survived that damn Legion bastard just to die here; that much, he knew.

At least he had a better chance of getting out of here alive, now. Being in a group with armed people generally improved one's survival rates out here.

[Slinky]

Taking down one Centaur usually meant another would waddle up to take its place. Not so in this case; they were too far away to be much of a threat. Riley retreated from fire, ducking behind the rock everyone was crowding around. Up close, he could smell the pungent scent of Ghoul, which resembled rotting flesh yet not quite. "Evenin' mates." Flashing a pointed grin, he peered around the boulder for sign of an approaching enemy. Nothing yet but he wouldn't put it past the Centaur's handlers to initiate a sneak attack.

"Got any plans? I don't wanna end up face down in those radiation pools and I assume ya blokes don't either."