|Borderlands| Begin Anew |1-on-1 rp|

It would have been advisable to not indulge that information but it was already out. Even so, Naeva could hold herself well now, so it hardly mattered that these people know that. Even so, habit caused him to tense briefly at the admittance.

Curious, he watched further as the conversation was directed towards Naira. Naeva had noticeably grown quiet then, even as she kept an eye on them. Zer0, himself, wondered about this. What did his partner intend to do now? He would wait and see, he supposed.

It was not Vaughn but Rhys that repeated the question. Curious as to why they needed, or rather wanted, to know what they did, Naira cocked her head to one side. Her hair fell into her eyes, far too long for their own good yet she too stubborn to cut them shorter. Naira hardly seemed to mind this obstruction anyways.

"What I do...?" she echoed.

Wordlessly she moved to her sketch pad, flipping through the pages. Many were tapped in or held within by paperclips and stapled to other pages. It had clearly seen much use for however long she'd had this one. Even so, she delicately and swiftly found a page she deemed necessary and held it up to show off a rather detailed sketch of what she could remember of the Warrior. She hardly had her usual bag of sketch pads and supplies with her, so these sketches would have to suffice to show them.

She didn't mention her habit of getting engrossed in video games right now, however.

Vaughn peered at the sketch, nodding his appraisal. "That's... actually kind of surprising. I didn't figure you for the artsy type!" He offered a shrug at his observation.

Naira blinked, lowering the sketchpad back to the table. Did she not seem like it at all? It was so ingrained into her, always having indulged in artwork since she was small, that Naira imagined it must have been obvious. It seemed she'd been wrong. Nonetheless she didn't comment on it, instead flipping back through to the page she'd been on before.

"So I've heard," she murmured lightly.

Though she didn't say it she did bitterly think about how little that meant when it had hardly gotten her anywhere in the art field. Her office was filled with folders and notebooks and papers with her artwork on it, whether finalized or not. Some she'd even framed, but then most might not have realized they were hers, with no time to peer at them for her initials.

"Man, if I did things like that maybe I wouldn't have been ignored so much by pretty girls," Vaughn half-joked, rubbing the back of his neck.

Naira hummed briefly, leaning her hand against her cheek as she took to her sketches and notes again. "It's not exactly a magnet for babes."

If nothing else she often had become so engrossed in learning, getting better and working on her art that he neglected many other things. It was partly why she'd been single for so long and had no initial desire to rectify that before dating Jack.

As they spoke, Zer0 listened quickly. At one point he peered down at Naeva, spotting the small smile from where he stood. It seemed that even if she was angry at the Hyperion woman she was still happy about these little things. A little strange, but who was Zer0 to complain? It wasn't hurting anything at the moment after all.

Her response wasn't exactly bitter but it was quiet. Maybe she had expected to go further with her artwork. Rhys didn't ask. All he knew about the art field was that it was rather biased. A psycho could throw something together and become a billionaire in moments.

"It's still a pretty awesome talent," he added after Vaughn had spoke.

Who knew how many people would have found that kind of artwork impressive. Jack and Naeva might be the only two people who had ever seen any of that artwork.

"How long have you been drawing?" he asked.

In between that and Naeva's brief chuckling at Vaughn's statement, conversation was actually steering in the right direction. Rhys could relax a little. He found himself enjoying it actually. Between learning about Naira and Naeva's endless teasing, it just all seemed natural.

"I don't know, I always thought the nerdy ones were cute," Naeva had finally expressed, lightness in her tone, maybe trying to get get a rise out of Vaughn. She seemed to like to tease others, even Zer0.

"See Vaughn, you could get a girl," Rhys added in attempts to put him in a bit of a spot. His friend wasn't only nervous but sometimes had a bit of a low self-esteem, maybe brought on about how things were ran in Helios. It wouldn't surprise him at all, in fact.

Naira's gaze remained focus on the pages before her even as she allowed a brief hum to escape her in answer. She was still very tired and hardly had the energy for much. Even so she did not yet desire to try to sleep further. With the caravan moving like this she'd hardly like to sleep up top it with the Loader Bot, especially so if any aggressive rakks soared through the skies along with them.

"Many years," she answered simply upon Rhys' follow up question. In truth, she'd always nurtured the skill since childhood but that hardly mattered right now.

Naeva finally spoke up again though it was directed to Vaughn, attempting to get a bit of a rise from him. Naira began to pay less attention then, sure that the topic was now gone for the time being and that she'd be left to her own devices at this table once more. It was best that way, she decided, stifling a yawn.

Zer0 snorted softly as Naeva's attention focused upon Vaughn. If he were the jealous sort, Zer0 might have felt a twinge of it in that moment but he trusted Naeva and knew her to tease anyone and everyone if she felt so inclined. This was no new occurrence for him. It did seem to be for Vaughn, however, his face dusting a light red as he blinked owlishly at Naeva.

"Uh, what? I-I think you'd be about the only one to think that," Vaughn argued, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn't seem too sure even as Rhys joined in on the 'fun.'

A shake of Zer0's head followed their antics. At least, for the most part, the lighter atmosphere would make things far easier down the road to finding the Vault. Whether or not it stayed this way, well, Zer0 would have to wait and see.

Naira attempted to finish her notes off for the current project she had in mind for the future, as small as it was. This was growing increasingly difficult as her eyes felt heavier and heavier. She stifled a yawn, still leaning against armored hand while trying to force the pencil to move.

Vaughn cleared his throat, ducking his head a little as the jokes continued. He was sure they were just making fun of him, albeit not in a rude way, though he didn't quite have it in him to joke back about it. Between he and Rhys, Vaughn had always been the one who had a hard time with popularity. His looks didn't help matters like Rhys' did.

"Yeah, more credit... right," he answered nonetheless.

It was quite curious how the conversation carried on, briefly including Naira at one point. For the most part everyone seemed to be fine with the arrangements now, even if not all parties involved were getting along. It was about the most they could hope for at the given moment. Zer0 would not question their luck on that matter.

A question mark erupted from his visor upon Rhys' observation. Indeed, upon observation on Naira, she had fallen asleep sitting up, leaning heavily on her hand. Her breathing had noticeably slowed, already, pencil loosely held in her other hand. Zer0 would be surprised if it didn't roll from her hand soon.

"Sleep may be welcome, / a reprieve from the problems / that are around us," Zer0 intoned briefly. He offered a shrug afterwards.

"Right, uh... should we let her sleep like this? I mean... seems kinda uncomfortable," Vaughn noted, waving his hand in front of Naira's face. She didn't respond, probably already none the wiser to everything around her.

Naeva knew that was the case. Naira was rather far gone and deep within her depression. What was more, her refusal to open up on those issues, even to an old friend, made things worse. This was all unsurprising to Naeva but annoying nonetheless.

"Truth be told," she agreed with Zer0's words.

Naira always slept when she was having bad days, at least from what she remembered. Naeva had done much of the same.

"She used to sleep like a rock," she told Vaughn when he asked if they should just leave her, "These days, I don't know if trying to move her would wake her up or piss her off."

"You...really know a lot about her, don't you?" Rhys brought up briefly. A short shrug was his answer.

"I know a lot about her from before all this," she finally answered, "Right now, I'm not too sure of where she's headed."

The depression was enough to kick anyone down. Losing someone she loved even more so. In those moments, she felt rather bad that it had to come to Jack's death. They didn't have a choice. He would have destroyed everything if they let the warrior and him leave that Vault.

Vaughn turned from Naira, listening to Naeva instead. She seemed to know a whole lot though when asked about it she was quick to admit it wasn't quite up to date knowledge. That left Vaughn a little uncertain of things and he quickly pulled his hand back. Best not to wake up his ultimate boss, just in case. It would be best if he didn't actively make her angry.

He guessed there wasn't much lying from Naeva about it though. Lots of things could change over the years, especially given the way these two ended up on different career paths entirely. Though this thought flickered through his mind Vaughn kept it to himself.

"Oh, that's great; here I thought it was just bandits and rabid animals we had to worry about," he began to ramble, glancing between Rhys and Naeva. "Should we, you know, do something about it? I-I mean, aren't we kind of obligated to or something?"

A cock of his head followed Vaughn's words as Zer0 silently observed. Curious, indeed. It was a foreign thing to think that Hyperion still held those with good intentions anymore, or at least those who could act on them still without ulterior motivations. It made him a little interested to see what might happen along the way to this Vault, if he were honest with himself.

As the two men discussed, or at least thought things over, Zer0 spoke softly to Naeva. "Such interest in / their higher-up. Perhaps we / have found some rare gems."

He and Naeva remained while the two took to moving Naira to a more comfortable spot in the caravan. It was almost comical, the great pains the pair took to even just begin to move her, as if afraid the slightest thing might wake her. Zer0 had his doubts about that, given the way the caravan bumped and rolled along already. Nonetheless, it made for an interesting sight to see.

His gaze turned to Naeva about the time that the two men had gotten to actually moving their boss. Zer0 figured Naeva had a point there however he wasn't entirely certain about how she figured it might end. Zer0 certainly figured it might well just be the assumption that they might resort to violence but then Naeva often surprised him too.

"You sound uncertain. / What ends do you envision? / Curious cat here," he prodded, turning back to the Hyperion pair.

From the looks of it, they weren't nearly experienced with carrying a body, even one still living. Rhys and Vaughn held her as if she might break if handled improperly, or perhaps as if they expected themselves to just drop her. A snicker escaped him at that, despite himself. The trouble they were going through for this simple task, it was far too much.

"So, maybe we should've thought this through more...?" Vaughn wondered, his voice hushed.

Half of him expected Naira to wake up and start shouting at them for waking her up much less carrying her somewhere. It didn't help that his glasses had slipped down his nose, bothering him immensely and he and Rhys were having a little trouble with putting her down. Too fast or rough and she'd wake up, defeating the purpose of helping her out.

Zer0 listened silently, merely observing the sight before him. Even Sasha had turned around, an amused look to her as she sat near her sister at the wheel. It was free entertainment, even if it might end up with Naira waking in a foul temper. Ah, but he hardly worried about that. She'd have to attack physically if she meant real harm with no ammunition, after all.

He took in what Naeva said, mulling them over in turn. She still knew Naira best, even if she doubted what she knew nowadays so it would be best to heed her words about the volatile woman. It may end up saving them a migraine later down the road rather than assuming things were entirely different. The safer route, in this instance, was best.

"And what of your trust? / Does ours not yet matter here? / To trust or not to."

It was an easy thing to pick up on the way she'd neglected to add herself and he to the mix of it all. Perhaps, in a way, Naeva had no desire to given the way her old friend had reacted last night. A way to separate herself then? Zer0 could only assume that might be the case. Zer0 wondered if she would be able to manage that, if that was indeed her ultimate goal.

At least Rhys agreed with him on their shortsightedness in this instant. The good news was that Naira hadn't woken and began reprimanding them and so Vaughn tried to see that as a good luck sign. Still, they were all but tripping over that huge coat of hers as they awkwardly shuffled their way to the rounded couch.

Vaughn tensed, worried briefly that Naeva calling out to them like that would be what set Naira off. Vaughn noted she merely furrowed her brow and otherwise did nothing more in her sleep. A breath of relief escaped him at that. This was so stressful for an otherwise simple task. ... Well, it had seemed simple at the time.

Several more minutes passed before their self-appointed task was complete, Naira asleep rather soundly on the comfier furniture. Vaughn took the time to push his glasses back into place, glancing at his long-time friend. Rhys seemed as relieved as he was that Naira hadn't snapped at them, or indeed woken up at all.

"Well, at least that's done then," he muttered, shaking his head. "What now? Back to chatting with the Vault Hunters...?"

Zer0 offered a hum but otherwise remained silent. He knew well enough that a lack of trust in one's partners could end badly but it seemed even Naeva hadn't a clue here as to what she was doing but observing. He shook his head at that. Observing might end up forcing them to act at a time that it may be too late to. That worried Zer0 deeply but he could hardly force Naeva to do anything even if he thought it might be best for their given situation.

Instead of his many observations of his own, Zer0 chose to say "So it is then."

This was but the first day of this new group's journey so he may come away surprised by the end of it. At least, he hoped so. At the rate things were going now between the old friends and Naeva's great desire to merely wait and see... Well, he wasn't sure anything good could come of that if what her assessment of Naira was was true.

"But if action calls, / Naeva, I wonder, would you / rise up to it all?"


Vaughn heaved a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. It felt like years since he'd last had a girl's attention on him and now he wasn't so sure about it. Was it a nice change of pace or just a Vault Hunter making fun of him somehow? He wasn't sure, especially given how things went down here on Pandora.

"Man, I don't know, to be truthful... I mean, she could just be yanking my chain or something for all I know!" he answered, keeping his voice down. "It's not like we know much about any of these people here, even our own boss."

That much was becoming clearer and clearer as time passed. For all Vaughn knew, well, they might just be dead weight to everyone else here. That thought was depressing and he tried not to dwell on it but it still wormed its way back to the forefront of his mind. At least Rhys had his cybernetics and the ability to try to smooth talk his way out of most situations. Vaughn wasn't exactly so lucky.

"Feels like we're just being led around by everyone who knows what's happening, you know?" he continued.

Naira shifted, moving to push herself up on her elbows. Bewildered and groggy, she peered around the caravan and wondered how she'd gotten to the only couch here. She didn't imagine any of the others would have moved her, would they?

Fiona sat nearby, flipping through some sort of magazine though Naira couldn't see what it was about. She seemed content where she was in the quiet of the caravan, the only light from the lamp at her little vanity desk. Sasha was nearby, the pieces of her SMG before her in an orderly fashion as she took to cleaning the parts with great care. Neither glanced up as Naira stood, moving to scoop up her pencil and sketchpad from the table and storing it away into her coat.

It was easy enough to tell that a decision to stop entirely for the night had been made while she'd slept, everyone situated on their own. Vaughn, Rhys, Naeva and Zer0 must have been outside of the caravan, however. She shook her head, seeing no reason to really dwell on it for the moment. Instead she moved to exit the caravan and head out for a more isolated little spot of her own for the time being.

There was another little campfire made out here of which Rhys and Vaughn sat at, meaning Zer0 and Naeva had chosen a spot elsewhere for themselves. Of that much, Naira was sure. She hardly spared the two boys a glance as she breezed by, hardly bothered by the chilly evening air.


Zer0 glanced up, upon hearing the caravan door opening and closing below them. Sitting up here with Naeva made it easy to keep an eye on their surroundings, even if the bulky loader bot insisted on remaining up top with them. So far it had held conversation only briefly, mostly with Naeva. Zer0 was unbothered by this if he were honest about it.

"It would seem she wakes. / A longer night yet remains, / or so it appears," he pointed out. With that said he turned back to tending to his blade.

Whatever Naeva took to doing, well, Zer0 figured she might yet remain up here with him. Habits had formed long ago and were hard to break. There was much that could hide within the night out here, after all, and two pairs of eyes was better than one. It was all the more important given how few of them were actually equipped to fight off any threats.

Besides, Naeva seemed comfortable, leaning against the railing. Quiet nights like these were normal even if they now were listening to the conversation of Rhys and Vaughn below. What they spoke of were simple things, about the others and of their situation and even joking with one another. It wasn't so bad to listen to if only because they were not so loud as to be annoying.

Vaughn watched as Naira passed by, her coat trailing after her like some grand cape. She said nothing as she headed further from their little bonfire, away from the safety their little ragtag group provided. His gaze snapped back to Rhys as he spoke up and that worried look was pretty easy to see. Vaughn knew him too long to not recognize it anymore.

"Well, you've talked to her more than I have now," Vaughn pointed out, his brow furrowing. "Though she does act kinda... strange sometimes, I think."

He paused then, scratching his head. Was that just him though? Maybe it wasn't, given Rhys' concern about her. It wasn't like they knew her personally though, making it difficult to tell if they were onto anything or not. It could be wild guessing on their part.

A shrug was offered then on Vaughn's part. It was all he could think to do. "Maybe you could go talk to her? I mean, you always were better at that stuff than I was," he reasoned.


Naeva didn't seem to pay much mind to those below them, at least not for the moment. As such Zer0 did not either, finding no need for eavesdropping. Whatever they decided to do was their own, after all, and he would not stop them so long as it did not interfere with the Vault opening. As such he continued to sharpen his blade upon the whet stone in his hand.

"Indeed," he agreed lightly. All in all, it had been a relatively quiet, if boring, day.

He caught her leaning back then, her attention focused squarely on the darkened sky. She had a fascination with those stars, even if Helios hideously hovered before the moon. Ah, but who was he to complain? It wasn't as if she was forcing Zer0 to appreciate the view too.

It was quiet for a time, the crackling of the fire below and the Hyperion employees' conversation the only sounds to reach him. He resigned himself to these noises, no stranger to quiet. That was until Naeva began to speak again. He cocked his head to one side, his blade pausing in its run across the stone. That sounded like an odd title for anything. Still, she seemed to have enjoyed.

"Oh? And what were the / robot's strengths and weaknesses? / I wish to know now."

Naira hadn't strayed too far, a little paranoid that she might be left behind otherwise. Jack had many, many aspects about him and not all good yet some of them had rubbed off on her, or perhaps it was the depression, eating away at her. She didn't pretend to know which was the answer. Instead she'd sat herself against another sizable rock. It was just one of many in the craggy plain around them.

She could well have started work on more notes and plans, letters left for whoever might take her place as Hyperion's president. Yet she didn't have the energy nor the motivation for it. Just the thought alone felt heavy, settling in on her chest. So, after a long moment, she'd reached for her ECHO device browsing through the little library of games stored on it.

It was as she was flipping through the titles that the newly familiar skag skin shoes appeared in the corner of her eye. Rhys waited a beat before he spoke up, sounding a little worried that she might snap at him, or worse. He sounded somewhat hopeful though Naira didn't immediately answer.

Selecting a fantasy game, Naira allowed it to boot up, the glow of the ECHO screen lighting the area as best it could. Only when she actively began to load up her save file would she actually speak up.

"Is that what happened?" Her tone was one of a person barely interested in small talk and yet Naira had answered him all the same. Her gaze remained on the ECHO even as Rhys stood there, perhaps waiting for something. She couldn't say. "I see."


She wasted no time in indulging him with an answer. As always, he dutifully listened, filing it all away as it came. He had a hard time imagining why anyone would want to build something so large and with such a weakness but then he was fine with the equipment he had. As such, Zer0 kept quiet on that thought. These things entertained Naeva and so he would continue to indulge her.

"A curious blue / print to use. Inventive as / well, if I'm honest."

She seemed to beam at that compliment, perhaps feeling all the more proud after all the time he'd spent harassing her about wasting his time attempting to build the robotic skag at first. No doubt she was feeling a little vindicated about it all nowadays, given the use the skag had to her. Zer0 could say he had eaten his words from back then though he wouldn't admit that out loud. Not if he could help it.

Briefly, he glimpsed Naeva glancing away, towards where Naira had wandered off to. Other than to note this Zer0 did not pause in his sharpening. There was hardly a need to if she did not sound an alarm of any incoming danger.

"You were able," he complimented finally.

What was it he wanted? Rhys still stood there, pushing a conversation forward with her. Here she had thought she'd made it clear that she had little intent for any new bonds between others that weren't necessary. It was possible, she realized, that he hoped to stop that for her own sake. Naira resisted a scoff at that.

"Agreed," she murmured. Whether or not she really heard what he'd said was questionable as she ran a check over her old progress. What was she doing in this game again? Naira couldn't remember entirely.

Setting off on her game, she yet again did not seem to entirely realize she'd been asked anything further. Then again it was possible that Naira wasn't going to offer an answer to that one. There was no need to, she figured anyways. Naira didn't need to go about sharing her problems on others when there was already enough to worry about between them all.

A few beats of silence passed, the music of the game and its sound effects softly filling it. Only when Naira realized Rhys didn't seem to have any intent to just turn and leave would she say anything. This sort of stubbornness wasn't new to Naira. Naeva had always had a stubborn streak and Jack's had been all the worse, even if she'd ended up happy with him by the end of things. Briefly she gave a dismissive wave of her hand, or perhaps it was meant to gesture to the space at her side.

"Either sit, or leave. You look pathetic shuffling your feet like that." Despite the order it lacked any bite to it.


He was a little surprised to hear she'd once given up her endeavor on Killer. She'd been so adamant on finishing it and proving him wrong back then, after all. A chuckle escaped him at that, well aware of that stubborn streak in her. It just wouldn't be the same without that challenge, really.

Putting the whet stone away, sword sheathed soon after, Zer0 made to move next to Naeva's side. Quietly, he laid himself next to her, peering up at the sky. He wasn't sure what was so interesting about all those stars up there but it seemed to make Naeva happy. At their feet the loader bot remained, quiet as ever. It was possible it was merely observing, or was being polite.

"You are too stubborn, / you would not have given up. / Not for very long," he pointed out.

He folded his hands over his stomach, wondering what might be next for the night. It seemed to be the sort that would remain like this, quiet and uneventful. But then, Naeva seemed to enjoy these types of nights with him so who was he to complain? For her, he would endure.