[Snowpocalypse] Stalefish (H 1.2)

Rich

Hadden,

After your conversation with Molotov and taking care of a few items, you heads towards Stalefish's. Handplant hasn't been around this morning, is that normal?

Stalefish is down at the growers, putting in his normal shift. Do you wait around for him to get off shift or talk to him there?

Mischa

Hadden:

I usually see Handplant once a day, sometimes twice, depending on what's going down. But after the niner with Nini, our schedule's're out of sync. I won't fret less we don't cross paths come the evening. Her or K2, she could have mom shit to handle. K2 makes me think about Nini's bassinet, what I might see this time next year. I should take notes, maybe probably.

No time like the present with Stalefish. If he's festering a grudge, best treat it before it hits the others.

Rich

The Growers


When you come into the tight confines of the Growers looking for Stalefish, you see him working beside Evol (pictured). She's not half-bad, right? Why did she go out of her way to let you know your services weren't needed?

Stalefish sees you, gives you a guy nod of greeting, then looks back down at the plants.

Want to roll your Reputation?

Mischa

Rolling+cool for rep.
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 4, 6. Total: 12)

Mischa

Stalefish has heard that Hadden is known to deal fair and doesn't suffer bullshit when it comes to TCB. He's also heard his landlady is a little sweet on the boy. (A little amusing, here in the Growers, where the musk of fertilizer hangs heavy in the air with Stalefish's stogie smoke.)

Evol has heard that Hadden is fucking dynamite in the sack. She doesn't want to use his courier services for the little packets of dried cooking herbs she mixes (also fucking dynamite, you haven't had rat masala until you've used her spices) because she fears their natural chemistry and is coming off a bad relationship.

Rich

Hadden,

Evol does a little double take, but keeps on working. You do notice she pulls a stray lock of her own hair behind her ear, and looks back at you, indirectly.

Stalefish asks, "What are you doin down here, Hadden? Fatass Misty send ya?" He looks up at you from where he's pruning some tiny bush and you can practically see his grin behind his big beard.

What do you do?

Mischa

Hadden:

l do a quick glance-and-nod to Evol. "Right in one, Stalefish." I know the names of some of these plants- there's aloe and cannabis, tomatoes. I can smell garlic, fresh, somewhere. I pull up a stool next to Evol, close enough to accidentally bump her in these close quarters. I peer at him over a small ferny thing. "Got an extra stogie so's we can deal?" Watching him closely, his hands moving in rapid, sure, precise motions.


[OOC: Hadden is clueless about Evol's feelings.]

Mischa

Rolling+sharp+rep bonus
(Rolled: 2d6+1+1. Rolls: 5, 6. Total: 12)

Rich

Hadden,

Evol flinches a little when you bump her. She tries to get back to work, but she glances at you out of the corner of her eye.

Stalefish pushes back in his rolling chair, and stands up, "No smoking by the little guys, Hadden. Let's walk over here by the door." He gets a bag off the table and fishes out a couple cigars.

"Please do leave. That stuff stinks!" Evol says, like she's asserting control or something.

Stalefish waves her off, "Ignore her, man. So, tell me how Fatass Misty is gonna fix my juice."

Mischa

Hadden:

I take the cigar, run it across my lip to breathe it in, sharp and musty. He has a wicked little device to trim the end, and I hand it to him so's he can make fresh smokes from the tailings.

I use his dented silver Zippo to snap-catch-light my smoke and linger for a breath to enjoy it.

"You first, Mr. Fish. I need to hear you tell me what's what. When'd the feed go south? Maybe I'm lucky and he forgot to plug it in. My tongue tingles, thinking of his peppers.

Rich

Hadden,

Stalefish shares a quiet moment of enjoyment of the cigars with you. Where does he get them from? Grow them? Or does someone bring this shit in?

"Fatass Misty's cutting corners, Hadden," Stalefish starts off, talking like he's had this conversation several times before, just not with you. "She's stretching the juice too far. Too many people sucking off the same hose. Hooking folk up so they'll talk to her, that's fucking nonsense. I'm growing the shit these idiots need to fucking live. I caught some Freight Tunnel Rat icedick actually sucking down juice from my feed to play music for a party. What the ever-loving-fuck?!?"

Mischa

Hadden:

These cigars, Stalefish makes 'em. Somewhere in his little maze is a hothouse of leaf to grow. He dries it somewhere else and handrolls everythang. One year, he had a crummy crop and had to use Gideon bibles to roll.

"Life's about more than just surviving, man." Hadden pointedly looks at his own cigar, smoldering. He blows a neat smoke ring. "How long has the juice been short? What are you really feeling?"

[OOC, spending 1 hold]
[OOC, marking experience from roll]

Rich

Hadden,

Stalefish looks to make sure Evol is busy before he answers. He takes a big puff, blows it out, then says in a quieter, serious tone, "Here's the deal, Hadden. Fatass Misty is fucking it all up. There isn't enough. We can't just give out all the feed. The last two weeks, she's taken on fourteen new residents. And my draw is a trickle. I lost three tomatoes to freeze two days ago." He narrows his eyes, "Her stupidity is going to bring us all down. I'm sick of it. I work hard, I roduce enough food for twenty people down here, easy. I only need one barter worth of power per month, that's it. I don't even count on that now. I will not starve because she is fucking lonely and diseased. It isn't my fault and it shouldn't be my problem, get me?"

More clearly, he's worried about losing his crop and he's angry that Misty is giving away precious resources.

Mischa

Hadden:

It's *so* much easier when there's no bullshit. "I hear you, I really do." I'm using even tones, matching his, rewarding his clarity and honesty. "Lots of people depend on the power here, Stalefish. Some who can't make it without. Remember Cross-rocket? Blind guy a level down? All he has in the world is that ancient DVD projector and Movie Mondays. If'n you don't have juice, that means brownouts all the fuck over, right? This could be bigger than you realize. But nobody relies on the feed as regular as you both!" I put one hand on his shoulder, feeling the rich velvet of that crazy-ass suit he wears. Looks warm. "It sure as hell ain't your (you) fault, but I ain't sure it's not your (all-a-you) problem. What if the sky-kite needs repair and nobody knows but you?" Appealing to a man's ego usually works, and I'm not sure I'm wrong about the sky-kite. Oftentimes just an extra pair of eyes adds a real angle. "If I wasn't here, what would you intend to do?"

A bit louder, more conversational. "It's a damn shame about those tomatoes. I know Evol works miracles on the stove." I flick a glance and a half-smile at her, sidewise.

[OOC, spending 1 hold]

Rich

Hadden,

Stalefish listens, scowling. He chomps on the end of his cigar, scratches at his beard. He's the kind of guy who listens enough to formulate a response. Great in debates, and arguments. Not so good for creating new ideas, though.

Your comment tossed towards Evol isn't missed. She's carefully trying to look like she isn't paying attention to you two, but when you get louder and drop her name, well, she gives you a glance, furrows her brow a crinkle in disbelief. But yeah, her cooking is quite good. She claims the spices are to blame.

"Well," Stalefish answers, pulling his stogie out to gesture with it like a pointer. "My plants are how I make my living. If Fatass Misty don't give me solid feed, then I'll look around for a better place to sleep. If that don't work, then maybe somebody smarter than her should take over. Like maybe you, Hadden." He puts his cigar back in his mouth, smiling like he just paid you a huge compliment. And well, dumped a bunch of annoying responsibility on you.

How sick is Backside Misty anyways, Hadden?

Mischa

Hadden:

Backside Misty's got some kind of variant on Krantzberg's Syndrome. It's not good. It's bad. About five-six months ago was when it happened. She was on the roof, launching the sky-kite after a bad bad storm, the kind where the lightning gets all green and gives you headaches. Maybe a wire got crossed, maybe it was some asshole on Carnation's crew, maybe she was sloppy. Either way, she got zapped fierce. A whole lotta juice went down the sky-wire and into her brain. Now, pieces of her brain go missing, taking bits of her mind. That dude who passes for a medico, Nedd, says she has a lifetime left. Krantzberg's doesn't attack the body. She has episodes sometimes, when the storms are real bad.

Yeah, right, run this place. I start, it's not a bad idea... and I know Misty'd welcome the company. I could do it in my sleep, but do I want to? Not too too interesting, just collecting back rent... "I'll keep that one under advisement, my man." A gracious, not too ironic, dip of my head. I cross my legs under the stool, enjoying the warmth of the heat-lamps. I'm starting to get hungry.

"Tell you what, you reserve your opinions for a couple three days, I'll see what it takes to get you solid feed. 'Sides that, what could I do to have you owe me a favor?"

[OOC, spending final hold]

Rich

Hadden,

Stalefish frowns, he thought he might get one over on you, or get you on his side. No such luck, though. But hey, you offer him a little something-something, and that's good. He says, "Why don't you motivate Lemma to fix my little gas-powered gennie? She's got it all backwards. I told her a hundred times, get me the generator, I can grow more plants, and then I pay the other half of the bill. Holding it just means we're both fucked. Get me that, and I'll shut up for a while." He tamps out the cigar, and prepares to go back to work, "At least until I run outta gas."

Mischa

Hadden:

"Don't think wrong. I ain't against you, Stalefish. Right now, I'm on nobody's side." I tamp out my smoke and hand him the end. I nod, satisfied. "Lemma's where it's at," and I'm agreeing with him on two levels. Shit breaks. Lemma's needed. I know she can do the job, but last time... I bite my lip a little.

"And don't worry if you run out of gas- you still have plenty of hot air." He sees I'm pulling his leg and he lets out a laugh that sounds nothing like a fat bearded man in a red fur suit. I make to grab for one of his red red peppers, cocking an eyebrow to see if it's okay. I don't want to steal it, but I wonder if he's in a better enough mood to let it slide as a bit of grease.

Hadden makes his way out and has to slide by Evol. He rests his hands on her shoulders for a moment, like pat-pat good to see you, and he can't see what her eyes do, don't know how long she registers his touch. "Until next time, you two keep 'em growing," and he's gone.

Rich

--END SCENE--