Welcome to Gaia! ::

The great one was high in the sky, and the shadows it cast were small. Brutus strolled out of the front gates and stared into the distance, observing the mighty winds picking up sand and dirt as they rolled along the destroyed ground. The heat waves fogged his vision of the far off landscape, and the sweat on his brow trickled down his face undisturbed by hand or nudge. The stream flowed into the deep crevaces gouged into his face from countless fights and ended only when there was no more of his face to run down. He sighed heavily, and began to walk forward in his own mutant-ish way. After spending so many years wandering these hills, planes, deserts, ruins and mountains, Brutus was used to the harsh weather conditions... but today was unussualy hot. He closed his eyes for a moment as he walked, and re opened them only to have sweat drip into his eyes, causing them to sting slightly. He cleared his eyes with the back of his hand and found a place to sit at the top of a mound. With a mighty groan followed by a few bones cracking, he sat on the ground with a thud and looked out into the landscape once more. He wasnt sure what it was about the wastes that comforted him so much, nor did he ever intend to devote any of his brain power to it. In the end, all that mattered was that it was his home for a long time, and he sought comfort in returning, even breifly, to the land that had given him so many good experiances. Countless fights had been waged, countless lives saved, countless drops of blood spilled. Life was an eternal battle that even death didnt resolve.
"The soul sheds light, and death is it's shadow."
The words came into his head much like a soldier lacing up his boots before a mission; with practiced motion and violent tugs.
"And when that light dims... life and death embrace."
He didnt speak the words to anyone in particular, for they were simply his thoughts slipping off his tounge.
"If life is as much a fight as death is... then I must have as strong a spirit as my body. I will be as strong as a ghost as i am right now."
He smiled slightly and closed his eyes again, this time the sting of sweat did not interupt his train of thought.
"Life is a curious thing, and for a mutant to be able to think about such things is truely one of it's greatest mysteries."
He chuckled to himself before running a hand through his buzz cut and sighing again. A breeze slammed into his chest just as he began to inhale. His smile widened as he looked to the sky, shielding the brightness of the great one with a massive hand.
"Thank you Great One, and thank you for keeping my love safe. She earned her stay in your glorious light, and I hope I have earned a place next to her."
He stoped for a moment and thought, lowering his hand along with his head.
"But the cold snares of death's embrace will not grab hold of me anytime soon. There are people who need me here, and things I have been charged to do. I will have my chance to fight along side the strongest in death, but for right now I must fight along with the strongest in life."
His smile weakened and he sighed once more, before rising from his seat and staring off into the wastes once again.

The small, feminine voice startled Brutus slightly, causing him to turn slowly and peek over his shoulder. When he saw the little woman in wraith armor he chuckled and turned to face her.
"You really should be careful little one. If i had felt more threatend, or were armed you might not be standing there right now."
His chuckle grew into a short laugh before he ajusted the pauldron on his left shoulder and then scratched his bare chest.
"I dont think I've ever seen you before little one. My name is Brutus, and as you can see I have been Dehumanized. Who might you be?"
He cracked the side of his neck and waited for an answer.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sister Fina."
Brutus took a knee and smiled at her.
"Yes, stealthboys can come in quite handy. I've been attempting to make a stealth squad using these devices for quite some time, but im afrraid there just isnt room in the brotherhood at the moment. I'm already the leader of a combat squad anyway, so I guess I should count my blessings."
He caught Fina starring at his forehead, and then picked up on her accent. Rubbing his forehead he began to explain.
"This is a self-inflicted branding that I did so I would never foreget who i side with. I have made the Brotherhood as much my life as the muscles in my arms, and treat it as if it were such. The tatoo on my back is a similar reminder. You might not be able to see it too well with the pauldron."
He unhooked the mighty shoulder guard and placed it on the ground before standing and turning to show the little girl his massive body tattoo. The brotherhood of steel symbol was sprawled across the entirety of his back in black ink.
"By the way. I noticed you have a bit of an accent. Might I ask what kind it is?"

Brutus scratched his chin in an attempt to figure out the accent.
"Oh I wasnt doin anything in particular, just admiring the wastes. I try and stay outside as much as possible. What were you doing out here?"

Brutus let out a bellow and rubbed his closed eyes.
"I dont consider myself a smart mutant, but as you may be able to tell I cam far smarter than most of my kin."
His laugh died and he began to strap the pauldron back on his shoulder.
"So you're a thief right? While I do my thing, smashin and bashin and killin and maimin, you go around and take allt he swag, then run off on me right?"
When he was done with the shoulder guard he crossed his arms and smiled at the little girl.
"Maybe some other time. Right now I'm in need of a suit of armor. See, I got this Prototype Nightkin suit that works real well in protecting me, but it's extremly cumbersome and expensive to maintain. I need a good 'ol fashion suit of metal mutant armor. Instead of checking one out though, I want to make my own. Problem is I need a few people to help me... would you be intrested?"

He chuckled again.
"Well we dont really need anything stolen. Can you sew? We need a couple of people to sew my gloves and the innards of the armor together. The steel may be on the outside but the inside needs leather and all to make it more comfortable."

"The whole point is to make the armor with my loved ones though. Thank you for offering though. If you wanna try and help us you can feel free to do so, but I really am afriad there isnt much that stealing could help us with."
He smiled at her and patted her on the head.
"When I get my new armor you and I can go on an adventure, if you want that is. Hell, I could maye even make you a new knife in my forge sometime."

"Sounds like a challenge. Very well, lead the way and I'll see what I can do to reforge you a decent knife."
He nodded and motioned to the barracks.