there’s a flashlight in mackenzie’s hand as they walk towards the abandoned structure. fingers gripping the cool metal, she uses her opposite hand to push open the door, watching it get stuck on a bit of debris on the floor. the place is a mess inside, but she figured as much. nobody had been here in god knows how long - considering the fact that the last family that lived here died under mysterious circumstances.

and well, mac considered that to be a reason enough to investigate.

tucking strands of hair back behind her ear, she drags a finger along the table in the entryway, chock full of dust and god knows what other contaminants. this won’t be good for her asthma, but does she give a damn? not really. wiping the gross stuff off on her jeans, she beckons claire forward until they’re inside fully.

it looks like a normal house, but the air is a bit chillier on the inside, there’s a definite sensation that something is in there with them, but she can’t manage to place where or what it is yet. a spirit? a demon? who knows, but she’s intent on finding out. she’s ordered some decent ghost hunting equipment off the internet, currently contained in a backpack thrown on her back in a hurry, and she bends down, holding the flashlight between her teeth before she manages to unzip and procure a few items. 

a half-ass working spirit box is her current object of choice.

“this is supposed to use like…white noise to get the spirits to talk.” she says, like she’s watched enough ghost adventures to know what she’s doing, and looks over at @hollowtissue with a smile on her face. ( she doesn’t, but she’s gonna fake it til she makes it. ) there is otherwise silence around them until she turns it on, taking a few steps further into the house.

"oh ghosties, come out to plaaaay."

she's got her hair pulled up into a half-ass bun, bobby pins securing the top knot as she pricks one of them out to go to work on a lock. it takes a second or two, a fumble nearly breaking the thing before she gets it open.

she's only to be met with the sound of a gunshot somewhere close. it causes her to jump, and she scurries inside, closing the door behind her. it's better to be safe than it is to be sorry, she learned that quite early on when it came to the sound of gunfire in the wasteland.

the sound of a voice hits her before she spots them, and it takes her a moment to recognize who it is that's speaking before she looks in their direction. there, holding said shotgun, is claire dredge, in the flesh - so to speak.

there's a smile on lorelei's face as she reholsters the gun that she'd previously slipped from it's leathers, unknowing if claire were going to recognize her after some odd years.

she doesn't think she looks all that different, but she still wants to play it safe. @hollowtissue was always the strong one - and when she left to explore the wasteland, lorelei longed for her friendship to return.

things were just harder when one of her only friends wasn't around.

"claire motherfucking dredge," the raider says, a bright smile spreading across her lips as she reaches up to tuck the bobby pin back into her hair, securing a small strand of hair out of her eyes.

"what's it been, two years now? god, it's fuckin' good to see you."

she wants to go in for a hug, but she refrains at the moment, being more cautious than anything. there's a tilt of her head and the peek of a smile on claire's lips that tell her that everything's alright, and so she takes it upon herself to rush in and wrap her arms around the opposite standing blonde.

burying her face into her neck, she breathes in claire's scent and lets a sigh of relief leave her lips.

"it's been far too long."

@hollowtissue, claire dredge sent to phoebe halliwell: cold, sender places their jacket over receiver's shoulders.

as phoebe walked through the chilly night, she couldn't help but feel the bite of the cold wind against her skin. it was a cold night. she knew that she couldn't handle this type of weather. she was so used to the sun when she was back home in san fransisco that she didn't bring anything warm when she came here. though, she has put on a small cardigan, she couldn't help but pull it tighter around herself, trying to shield her body from the icy air. despite her efforts, the cold still managed to seep through, sending shivers down her spine. just then, claire, her ever-attentive friend, with a gentle gesture, reached out and placed her own jacket over phoebe's shoulders. the warmth of claire's jacket enveloped phoebe like a comforting embrace, instantly easing the chill that had settled into her bones. phoebe turned to look at claire, touched by her friend's thoughtfulness. " thank you, claire, " she said, eyes on her friends, who doesn't wear anything other than a sweatshirt. " aren't you going to be cold though? i don't want you to freeze to death because of me. "

@hollowtissue required a starter from bonnie bennett.

bb. this place gives her the creeps. she doesn't know what's going on here, but feeling the aura of this place makes her break out in a cold sweat. it was as if people were plotting something. people of this place weren't very friendly either. the looks she feels on her give her shivers. sighing as she clutches her jacket close to her, she couldn't help but comment. " are you happy here ? i mean, if you are, i'm no one to judge but … " she paused as she shook her head at the thought of staying here for another minute. “ wanna finish the homework at my house ? ”

let's talk about mackenzie/claire's camp, shall we?

it's a small one, somewhere in the savage divide, near one of the small bodies of water that occur in the area.

for christmas mackenzie is stringing up decorations and finding a makeshift tree somewhere - ( even if she has to scavenge for days ) and she's got the genny's up and running to power christmas lights.

mackenzie might not know many plans, but she will absolutely craft a few plushies for claire for christmas, especially the pink and blue brahmin ones. they go on the foot of claire's bed.

they searched for days to find the right camp, ended up having to deal with blood eagles on one spot, honey beasts in another - eventually in the mountains, overlooking a cliff, they find a small pond that is free of any enemies.

their muscles are sore by the time they use junk to create a makeshift shelter, but by god, it's better than sleeping outside in the rain.

their aesthetics are very different - mackenzie likes flowers and claire is more of a rough and tumble type with the amount of arms she's gathered from enemies or looted from camps, but it's home, and it's wonderful.

@hollowtissue

if you don't think mackenzie would absolutely make sure claire is stocked up with rad-x and as many radaways as she possibly can, then you're wrong.

mack has taken to hunting down medical convoys and searching for stims that can keep the ghoulification a bit further from their reach, and wonders if she can find some sort of mutation that would stop claire from reaching the end of the tunnel altogether.

mackenzie would rather go ghoul herself than let claire completely transform, because she knows the world is better off with miss claire dredge in it, and she values herself less than normal due to her ever present mounting depression.

tldr; mack is a one woman army against the ghoulification of claire.

@hollowtissue

let's talk about mackenzie and her bff claire in the fallout universe.

mack is the daughter of a raider, her mum gets killed in the crossfire, dad abandons his kid before he's gunned down by minutemen. she's only seven when it happens and is left to wander the wastes.

at some point in time - after she's gone and grown up a little, she meets claire. who subsequently saves her from a group of cannibal raiders who are wanting to feast on her flesh in order to sacrifice her to the mothman.

claire and mack travel the wasteland - taking settlements from raiders, helping save fallen individuals, just casually causing chaos and wreaking havoc on the world around them. all the while mackenzie keeps claire's secret that she's going ghoul, vows to protect claire with her life.

eventually mackenzie dies - by the hand of an institute merc. claire is the one to bury her body and eventually visits it everyday. when claire turns feral, she is the one that now haunts mackenzie's grave site, a silent protector over her fallen friend even after she's lost all her faculties.

in life and eventually in death, claire and mackenzie stick together through the ins and outs and everything. mackenzie is sure she wouldn't have survived without claire at her side.

@hollowtissue.

in short i love claire and mackenzie's friendship and i will sacrifice anyone and everyone to the gods if it means keeping them safe and together, don't try me.

she's sitting in front of the mirror in claire's bedroom, using the vanity to braid her own hair before putting a bit of spray in it to keep the small wisps of baby hair in place. they're listening to the radio as something comes over it - speaking about some political bs or another and the opening of this new department store a couple of towns over. etta simply rolls her eyes.

"heard he's running for mayor down there," she says, in reference to one of the men who is on the board for her father's boarding school. despite his apparent actions in cult-based priorities, he seems to have enough time to spend schmoozing with people in order to try and get votes. and what better way than to open a place fit for gluttons who have a desire to rip and tear through every sale and by gosh, he's creating jobs. put a crown on his head and call him king.

etta's halfway through some sort of rant when claire butts in, not out of annoyance, but there is a matter of fact tone in her voice when she speaks that doesn't bother henrietta one bit.

"the scales of justice tip in favor of the wealthy."

"ain't that the fuckin' truth." she says, a huff of breath leaving her lips in annoyance of the situation at hand. pushing up from her current spot where she was sitting, she goes and turns the radio to another station, a series of rock and country songs slowly start spreading through the room, bringing about a different vibe entirely.

"now that's better."

she says, smile on her face as she shakes her hips a little bit and lets the twin braids down her back shift a little with the movement. "come dance with me!" she says, beckoning @hollowtissue forward with a crook of her two index fingers, trying to lighten up the mood that was previously soured by male men and their entitlement.

she's fresh out of the hospital and back at her place, a fractured collar bone enough to keep her out of commission for a short period of time. she doesn't remember falling asleep at the wheel, just the sensation of something overwhelming her and taking control.

but she couldn't necessarily tell someone that an otherwordly being took advantage of her moment of weakness, no, then she would be locked like some of the others in the crazy house, and nobody wanted that.

claire is the first to visit, a bright smile coming over the blonde's face when she sees her through the old screen door, listening to it creak as it opens - she should mentally make a note to get some wd-40 at some point, but will she remember? most likely not.

"i heard about that little accident you had."

claire says, cautiously, not showing judgement of any kind. mackenzie sighs in relief, she's heard enough of people yelling at her lately and frankly, was sick and tired of it all.

"yeah, just a little banged up. should be good in a couple'a weeks. ain't like this is going to slow me down,"

she says, and smiles through a wince of pain when she moves incorrectly, still not used to the new way her body has to shift and maneuver in order to be pain free.

"you hungry? i was thinkin' of orderin' something to eat. we can watch a couple'a movies or something for tonight, if you're plannin' on staying for a little bit. i don't wanna interfere if you've got plans with someone else for tonight,"

she says, secretly hoping she takes her up on the invitation to stay, so that mackenzie feels a bit safer in the presence of someone else, especially @hollowtissue. there's a small smile pulling at the corner of mackenzie's lips when she glances over, patting a spot next to her on the couch when she goes to sit down.

wiping the grease from her hands, the brunette wandered over to check out the progress of one of the cars in her shop that her brother from another mother had been working on. whomever brought this car in took good care of it, despite it's obvious age the paint job was absolutely pristine. she could appreciate such a show piece.

"daniela! the parts you ordered for your car are in, just gotta pick 'em up. it's just a little ways over the state line, think you can manage?"

the brunette scoffs, a curse dying on her tongue before she shifts and runs fingers through the remnants of a tattered braid down her back.

"yes, yes, think you can handle not burning down my business so i have time to go collect these parts."

said parts were for her racecar, which she kept a constant upkeep with lately, wanting to make sure it's the best and the brightest when it comes to her racing gig.

all of a sudden, the sound of a voice hits her ears, and she hears claire running over towards her with a heavy breath.

"wait , wait , wait ! i'm coming with you !"

there's a smile on the girl's face as daniela races forward and picks claire up, swinging her around for a moment before settling her back on her feet.

"alrigh', we'll make it a girls trip. wanna maybe spend the day down there, we can go out to lunch or somethin' along the way, maybe check out that new record store they got."

pulling the keys for her car out from the back pocket of her jeans, she guides claire over to the vehicle whilst pressing the unlock button and climbing into the driver's side. thankfully, she just cleaned this car so there was no trash on @hollowtissue's side - which meant that she didn't appear to be as much of a slob as she was on her off days.

"tell diego i'll be back later tonight. please don't burn down my building while i'm away."

and with that, they were off, daniela behind the wheel, soft radio tunes playing from the speaker system in the back, and claire in the passenger seat, everything was going really well for the moment.

if there was a 'dead moms club', henrietta and claire would be the head honcho and vice president, of that much she's certain.

popping an adderall into her mouth, she chases it with a sip from her hip flask, having been parked in the driveway for the better part of ten minutes. this whole 'cult' thing involving their parents was getting old and she was tired of it, which meant that she was seeking out help to try and get to the bottom of it all.

etta throws her backpack over her shoulder once she exits the car, bumping the door closed with her hip before running up the steps of the porch and knocking on the door, three times for good measure.

the brunette rocks back and forth on her heels while she waits for someone to answer, a smile on her face when the honeyed blonde comes to check on the person standing behind closed doors.

"brought you something,"

she says, reaching into her pocket to pull out a trinket she'd bought at a yard sale a few streets over earlier in the day. it's just a small bracelet, but the colors reminded her of the green flare in claire's eyes and she had to purchase it for her friend.

once she was allowed inside, the brunette wandered through the house before going to say hello to mrs. rose, not wanting to be impolite while entering the woman's abode. making her way back towards @hollowtissue as they close the door and stop the chilled air from entering the house, she smiles and brushes back a strand of hair from where it previously rested in her face.

"they're havin' a yard sale over at the matthews house, if you wanna check it out. i think it's going to go on tomorrow too, if you got time."

they're sitting on the couch, half-watching one of those old movies mrs. rose really likes, half falling asleep. claire had fixed them a huge dinner and mackenzie was struggling to stay awake from being over full - girl ate like she hadn't seen a meal in days, but that's how it always happened when she had someone else to cook for her.

a yawn breaks away from her, and she's sitting upwards now rather than slumped against the couch cushions, stretching her arms up above her head and rolling her shoulders back until they pop. all of a sudden, the phone rings, and mackenzie is the first to jump up and attempt to answer.

who could be calling at this time of night, she's never sure, but she goes to answer it anyway, winding the old landline's cord around her fingers as she picks it up.

"hello?"

she hears the sounds of gentle breaths on the other end of the phone and gives them a moment before speaking, tilting her head to the side and turning back to give claire a look before the sound of her mother's voice hits her ears, and her demeanor changes entirely.

"mackenzie, my darling"

turning her back to claire, the sound of her voice is hushed as she responds, trying to not draw attention to herself in the moment.

"hi, mama."

she says, voice barely above a whisper. this goes on for a few moments, hushed whispers in the form of a conversation that is meant for only her ears, and for a long time she simply goes mute, holding the phone to her ear and breathing as she listens to the dulcet tones of what to her, is her mother, speaking on the other end of the line.

she can feel @hollowtissue's eyes boring into the back of her skull, but that doesn't give her any momentum to hang up the phone. her body feels frozen in this position, phone placed against her ear as she whispers sullen apologies into the device.

there is something tingling against the back of her neck, but she pays little to no mind to the sensation, trying to fight the waves of guilt that seem to spread like wildfire throughout her entire body.

there is a foam container sitting on the front seat of her car as she drives down the long dirt road towards the marshall's ranch.

her mother had bought way too many sweets - and her instructions were to 'share with claire', so that's exactly what she intended to do.

tucking a strand of hair back behind her ear, the blonde coughs as a bit of dust enters her lungs through the open window, and then chooses to press the button to raise it slightly in an effort to stop that from happening again.

she's almost at the ranch when she spots one of the horses galloping around the pen and it brings a small smile to spread across her features. she was what one would call a 'horse girl' through and through, so visiting claire when she was at work was something she really enjoyed doing - especially if it gave her a special treat of feeding the horses a few sugar cubes now and again.

parking her vehicle in the driveway, she climbs out and grabs the container before going and spotting @fuckinfreaked in the window, waving frantically to get her attention as to not have to spook the horses by honking the horn.

a smile spreads wider across her face when the screen door swings open and from it emerges claire dredge, hair in a messy bun and a slightly tired look in her eyes.

"brought you something." she says, producing the container and holding it out towards her friend. "mom says she bought too much, but i think she secretly bought more just to share with you."

mackenzie’s got her head on claire’s shoulder, they’re sitting on the top of a hill watching the drive-in movie from the back of mackenzie’s step-dad’s pick-up truck. she’s got a series of candy wrappers strewn around her body. they hit the end credits at some point and just sit there for a while, in silence, neither one wanting the movie time to end. because that meant they’d have to go back to their lives and deal with the traumas that came along with it. 

“you know, claire,” mackenzie started, shifting to look at her best friend, who was idly jamming along to the end credits theme. “i like how you talk without talking.“ she says, and that brings a smirk to her best friend’s lips that has her laughing in the night time air. she shoves at claire’s shoulder before trying to find the proper words to figure out what she was trying to say.

“i mean you can just like....exist and make things better, y’know? you’ve become my saving grace these past years an’ i don’t know what i would do without you.”

mackenzie’s mom getting sick was the worst of it all. she’d put the blame on her step-dad for not having insurance, not getting her mother into seeing a doctor when she should have been going all these years. maybe then they could have figured out a way to get past this. but cancer was something that they couldn’t bypass with a simple hop and a skip to the clinic. 

“i don’t think i would’a made it through. especially with mom....being....y’know,” she says, not wanting to reference her mother’s sickness, bring up a sallow moment in the middle of such a good time. @woodridgehollow was the best of them all, as far as mackenzie was concerned. “but enough about that. you up to head to the diner for burgers and fries before we call it a night?”

@hollowtissue, claire dredge sent to juliet capulet: dance, sender sticks a hand out to receiver and invites them to dance.

it wasn't her first ball. it won't be the last either. she knew her parents liked to show her off way too much. something she both hated but loved at the same time. meeting people, talking, dancing, she needed it to forget her curse. why would she let herself forget about it when there is lot of things that goes against it in her head? she wonders to herself as she took a sip of her soda. another thing she likes about those ball, the drinks. free and not something that she would says no to. sulking to the side of the stage, she couldn't help but raise her head when she saw Claire hold out her hand to her. a smile appeared on her lips as she took the girl's hand and followed her onto the dance floor. "thank you," she yelled over the music as she moved around. "for taking care of me while i'm sulking on the sidelines. even if it's not your role, i'm grateful."