Vulpes, The Disguiser

Early in the morning, she wakes to her hands bound behind her, and her coat still warmly around her. She keeps her eyes on a campfire to the front of her. She shuffles back seeing two Powder Gangers before her the same way as her.

"Oh no…" she whimpers now shifting her side through the dirt. Vulpes comes to her back, gripping the ropes by her wrists and pulling her up to her knees.

"Good morning Susan La'Grange, the Goldeneye…" his voice is hissed and serious as he drags her to the nearest log for her to sit on.

"Y-you are from the strip. I saw you." she became utterly worried not for her but for seeing him in two places one of which he could have been easily captured.

"Yes, investigating something of value. I warned you then and what did you do, hum? Shame to think you were smart like your father." he slyly smiles and kneels to the front of her gripping her chin. He silently examines her and he leans to sniff her as if to memorize her scent. Standing up and away from her he crosses his arms behind him and sways a hand for two men to drag her near a tent. "For a few days, we will starve you. Till then we shall see if you have any fight as you did at Cottonwood." he waves his hand again having them drag her through the dirt heaving panicking breaths as they enclose her into the tent.

For lonely hours of silence, remembering the last outside view of a small gathering of Legionnaires burned to her mind she crawled up to her knees and fell back to sit cross-legged. Her hair matted and covered in sand and dirt follows over her burning eyes. She felt helpless and worn from the inside out. A feeling of being a shell and believing Joshua had not noticed or had returned home forgetting all about her, caring less. She began to believe in Boone's words of never trusting any Legionnaire and she knew there were at least twenty of her enemies out there. She was warned twice, by Vulpes on the Strip, and from Joshua fearing she would be hunted, she became captured prey. Her thoughts waned on the worse. She was to be a slave and she was expecting the worst of it to come in furies. Hours passed through the day, her eyes never leaving the bottom of the tent flaps she was patient for something, anything. She glanced around the tent and back behind her to the locked chest just before a lamp lit desk. On the outside she was calm but inside she was breaking down, bit by bit, emotion by emotion. Hours into the night she keeps still and silent enduring the sounds of her stomach rumbles. Some marching troops were heard kicking up the dirt as they headed out for however long, from days to hours she did not know yet hoped it was for good.

Vulpes had investigated and found new facts, which were like unseen ghosts, hard to obtain from reliable resources, of the event of Cottonwood. He huffed a breath as he rested his chin in his hand with his other arm crossed over his chest and underneath the supporting arm's elbow.

"You sure it was him and not just this, Goldeneye woman?" his voice rumbled in a low hiss as he eyed one of his frumentarii who shook his head causing the fake black feathers of his helm shiver and stops to be highlighted by the moon's shining light.

Thinking closely over his newfound knowledge he seems to contemplate over things as he turns his back to his men and seemingly stares pass his tent and over to the desert.

"So be it then, begin your patrols," he grumbles in thought and silently walks closer to his tent having his left arm cross behind him.

She focused her gleaming eyes and sharp ears on the feet and their shadow peering in at the bottom of the tent flaps.

"Goodnight men, you may leave the prisoner," he says low and the footfalls of his men trail off along the rubble campground. A pale rough hand pierces through the flaps which trail away from him as he steps into his tent. The ears of the dog head poke in and through his goggles he coldly eyes her.

"Must have suffered a lot of emotional trauma," he says, noticing her unwavering eyes. She never jumped when he entered, not afraid, just silent and observant.

"Yeah your kind wouldn't care much for it so why mention it." she moves her eyes slightly away then continuing on to watching his every breath and every movement.

"Because human emotions are a tool. They can be learned from and easily gathered to know what type of person anyone could be," he says calmly as she lifts his head covering and kneels to place it to his own chest just across from his fur filled bedroll. "Not to mention I do the more, courteous work for Caesar." he grins wide, his pale eyes flicking just as he pulls his goggles to his brow to have him look over his left shoulder to her blank face. "So what is your story degenerate? Why have a myth work for you in taking on Cottonwood? You truly became a pain in the ass to the Legion. I am tempted to lash you to a cross for your actions, woman." he comes to the front of her, after placing down his goggles, gripping hard at her chin to force her to face him and look him in his eyes. "I said, speak." he demands, yanking hard at her face.

She winces, "I am a mercenary and have been on a search looking for...my mother and found out she was taken as a slave. My father, a Desert Ranger chose to join your unrightful cause away from the NCR. I want to know why it would cost my mother's life and why he had become part of your band of savages." her eyes are flared and focused, fully gleaming brightly in their golden color. In return of her bravery, she is slapped across the face with the back of his hand.

"I will remind you again. You are at a raiding camp and your foul mouth, profligate, will not be tolerated in my presence. I am Vulpes Inculta, Caesar's most valued frumentarii and leader of them. I suggest you tell us where the Burned Man is, now." he commands.

"I-I don't know…" she lied but still was not sure of where he exactly was and as clearly as she knows how hard it is to lie, Vulpes saw right through her. He was going to get the answer out of her one way or another.

"You are stubborn and you have no need to protect him. His time has come and has been for some time ever since he had failed my lord, Caesar." he grips his right hand just to his upper arm to pull a knife from its strap. It was her own and she looked down to her left thigh seeing it was gone from her possession. It was her father's heirloom and it was painful to see it coming at her. The blade shined at its edge aside the black matte paint and it grew close to her cheek. "Marking you will be the only kindness I will bring you." the tip cuts deep along her cheekbone.

Her eyes sharply closed and no whimper leaked from her lips as it split her flesh. After he stopped at the end of her cheekbone her eyes shot open and she lunged forward to clash her forehead with his. She was not an individual to act helpless but she was one to follow her anger. In her attempt, she fell forward and hard to her right side. She then eyed him as he hunched over gripping his forehead with her knife in hand. His eyes peered back to her with a small impress of her blood on his nose. He grinned wide and stood up slowly brushing a hand over his buzz-cut brown hair to keep a poised facade. He was not happy but he loved a fight.

"I warned you…" he tossed the knife to the fabric flooring and to the right corner near the entrance of the tent. Sliding to his knees he grips hard at her shoulders pulling her back up to her knees. Her shoulders, sensitive and tender to the touch he roughly grips them pinching her scars unintentionally. She groans in pain and twists her body away.

"Get off of me. If you don't learn if someone has been through enough, then learn now. I am not much use dead and I am damn sure the Burning Man is gone. I ain't nothing of interest, can't you notice that?" she says tugging away hard and falling back to her back to see Vulpes observe her curiously as he stands above her.

"Then I ask again. What is YOUR story?" he brushes his left hand over his stained nose and eyes her intently as she crawls back up to sit to her legs again. "Tell me then. What has brought you more pain than what I have unleashed upon you?" His voice is sinister and curious as he eyes the long cut along her cheek, the redness of where he slapped her, and the relentless rope at her wrist's reddening flesh. He then notices her exhaustion in the hunch of her shoulders to her dry lips from not obtaining water or food and sighs. "Before your voice dries, I suppose you are in need of some water, profligate." he grips a leather waterskin from his desk and offers it to her dry crusting lips, the desert is unforgiving.

She glances at him in a very lost and humble way seeing as to now give up her fight as her enemy has her bound. Drinking back some gulps with desperate cause he abruptly stops just as she comes close to getting her fill. She stared at him huffing in a breath, as water drizzled down her chin, gaining back peace the cold water had momentarily brought.

"Start with your childhood. Take your time, we have four days till we head out." he emphasizes on the word 'time' to mock her and grips a chair just from his small desk on the other side of his locked chest. He takes a seat backward crossing his arms over the back of it to make sure he is towering above her.

"I was born in Primm. Grew up in education and kept there. I knew about the maps but not the land itself, I relied on scrounging. I was taught to think, strategize, and craft." she gulps her salivating mouth and continues on with her summary. "Came to be a helping hand to the Mojave Express and fixing up things then to become a most dire needed hunter to the nearby Powder Gangers. They were the first to be on my kill list. Then I went to take NCR requests and hunts as I got older and more desperate for money and parts for machinery. One of those requests was to find missing people. That is what got me the claw marks on my shoulders. Sometime after that, I went on a hunt to find my mother and gathered some information on her supposed trade job. I figured you guys had something to deal with her disappearance and it was true but my missing in action ex NCR father must have agreed with your people's dominance and slavery. Cause I found out he knew my mother was taken as a slave so your men did in fact have something to do with it. That makes you all on my shit list. I don't care much at this point. I just want my family back, since that can't happen. I will take away your supposed Legion family and die to see mine after I take you with me." her voice was confident and cold. Most of all it was changed and in roaring pain.

"I see. What of your eyes?" he asks, seemingly to not care at all of her ill feelings toward him or his 'brothers' in arms. He wanted to know why this prisoner was different from all the rest of the frightened ones.

"A radiated puddle. I splashed too much into it and water got into my eyes. I was blinded for weeks when I was young." she says gulping at the hope she did not have to state all she had gained from the miracle recovery.

"Painful I am sure…" he grins and sighs as he uncrosses his arms and pushes up and away from his chair to stand.

She stayed silent, wondering what type of frumentarii would keep a prisoner alive especially after knowing her background now. It came to her thought that in fact, she was to be put on a cross, perhaps that or she would become his slave instead. She gulped and looked toward the knife feet away from her.

"Ideas lurking in that head, hum? You aren't the first nor the last. I suggest you get some sleep for tomorrow we have a small trip and I am in need of your legendary eyes." he grins and swings back his chair under his desk.

Looking closely at him she feels something is off, not completely trustworthy and someone to easily hate. She held her tongue as he walked to her knife and picked it back up to put back to her strap which he had wrapped around his upper right arm.

"I am sleeping here?" he asks low and abruptly while hiding the panic in her voice.

"Yes, if there is a problem with that I will be more than glad to send you back outside, with the more desperate men of mine." he coldly informs her with a joking smirk but to her, it was one of a monster. His men were one's to follow orders and not to act as savaged to him she was his prize

From this point, she added together that he was more of the talkative side of the Legion army. His charisma was one of the more manipulative types. She noted that she would watch out for him in every endeavor. He smiled back at her approving of her fell silence. He took his time to walk out making sure she knew he would still be around outside of the tent. The soft sound of crickets gave ease in her time to lean forward and attempt to explore with her eyes about the tent. She gazes at his chest where he had left his helmet and goggles. Glancing over it for a moment thinking of what useful things are inside, she huffs a tired breath and mutters.

"I guess there is no point. I must sleep my time off." she groans feeling her stomach cave in on itself. She writhes her arms behind her and painfully pulls them close to her bottom and tuck in her legs to pull her hands to the front of her. She hisses at the burning of her wrists. Eyeing her skin along the rope she scoffs and lays to the furs in the tent and on a pillow. To her surprise it was comfortable and for the night she had made herself fall asleep listening to the crackles of campfires and chirping crickets.