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[Snowpocalypse] Roadback (R 3.3)
To Rossi:
The next morning was crazy cold, but the two of you crawled out from under the blankets eventually, packed up your shit and moved out to the other houses for supplies. With Chi-Town on the other side of the lake, this place hasn't been picked off too bad. You pull about a jingle worth of supplies out of an out-of-the-way second floor apartment with some Slim Jims and, of all things, ding dongs. Chocolate cakes that are probably worth a barter themselves, to the right person. Do you eat them?
Regardless, you two get back on the road once you've got your stuff packed up. Jester's crutches were left behind in the car, and today, it seems he doesn't need them. Sure, he hobbles more than walks. He'll never waltz. But he can walk on his own power, just not very gracefully, and he slips up on bad ice. But man, he's excited to get back on his own feet! "Shit, Rossi. My armpits were raw as all hell. Like, bruised and all. So glad I can just, you know... walk!" He laughs, grins and demonstrates.
It takes you hours to travel as far as that damn car did in minutes. It's disheartening, really. Well, except for the company. Jester's got his pipes back. As in, his singing voice. He teaches you a new song, and then tricks you into singing it with him. Something to lift your spirits. What is it?
The next morning was crazy cold, but the two of you crawled out from under the blankets eventually, packed up your shit and moved out to the other houses for supplies. With Chi-Town on the other side of the lake, this place hasn't been picked off too bad. You pull about a jingle worth of supplies out of an out-of-the-way second floor apartment with some Slim Jims and, of all things, ding dongs. Chocolate cakes that are probably worth a barter themselves, to the right person. Do you eat them?
Regardless, you two get back on the road once you've got your stuff packed up. Jester's crutches were left behind in the car, and today, it seems he doesn't need them. Sure, he hobbles more than walks. He'll never waltz. But he can walk on his own power, just not very gracefully, and he slips up on bad ice. But man, he's excited to get back on his own feet! "Shit, Rossi. My armpits were raw as all hell. Like, bruised and all. So glad I can just, you know... walk!" He laughs, grins and demonstrates.
It takes you hours to travel as far as that damn car did in minutes. It's disheartening, really. Well, except for the company. Jester's got his pipes back. As in, his singing voice. He teaches you a new song, and then tricks you into singing it with him. Something to lift your spirits. What is it?
Comments
Ever heard the song Northern Wind? It's a pretty song. Lots of energy, and catchy too. I don't mind so much singing when nobody can hear me... I didn't expect to get anywhere fast — Jester "moseys" after all — but his singing was a welcome change of pace. I've got my gear on, in case we get accosted by some assholes with guns — or worse — but I don't expect any trouble of that sort until we get much closer to Chi-town. "Don't overdo it," I call to him as I maintain my pace with the sled, "we've got a long way to go, and I'm not hauling your sexy ass on the sled this time if you get tired." I smirk to myself, and keep walking
... Who am I kidding... I'd haul that ass anywhere.
You mean this one?
Yeah, that's a beautiful one. Jester compliments your voice, and you swap off lyrics, doing a verse at a time. He even pulls out that damn harmonica he's always trying to give away, and plays a bit while you sing. He jokes that he's gonna bring you into his next show at Underlake, but you know he'd never call you out like that.
Maybe he likes it that you just sing for him.
"You know... if you do haul me, it means I get to stare at your ass the whole time." Jester observes with a grin. "I like this plan." He does an exaggerated limp for a few steps, then cracks up.
So you're traveling across what was once the Michigan City Gold Course, according to the sign, which is now just a set of small, rolling icy hills. You catch sight of some smoke in the sky ahead. The sharp wind had evidently hid it during your approach, but now, it's unmistakable. It's coming from a lodge that sits right in the middle of this golf course.
Jester notices it, too. He's stopped singing.
What do you do?
Anyway, the joking stops when I spot the smoke rising into the wind... I'm tempted to just go around — sidestep this whole place altogether — because I sincerely doubt someone who lives this far out gets by on kindness and sunshine alone. With no other options, though, I guess I've got to find us a way out of this... "C'mon," I whisper to Jester, "keep sharp..."
I'm scanning the grounds for any signs of movement, or a way around this place.
You look back at Jester when he's stopped singing and he's suddenly serious. Well, he's "Jester serious", which is quiet and alert, but still pretty happy about it. He falls in, whispering, "I'll follow you."
The lodge looks like this:
Your feet crunch under the snow. The top layer is a soft powder, which a thicker permafrost underneath. The snow seems to blow in drifts, which removes all traces of people moving around here.
Looking around, you realize you could circumvent this lodge, but the place is very exposed. You will be seen by whoever is up there. A good sniper could rain hell down on you, too. Force you to crawl for maybe a mile before you'd be totally out of range.
What do you do?
I know I would.
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 3, 5. Total: 8)
Your enemy is in the lodge. He's watching you, both of you. You see a shadow move as you come closer. The windows are boarded up, mostly. He isn't aiming a gun at you. Not yet.
Off in the distance somewhere to the south, you hear a single howl. That's odd, not only because it is mid-afternoon, but because what howls out here? Then a few more howls join the first. Too many to count. Maybe five, maybe a dozen.
What do you do?
As you both make your way to the door, it opens up. A barrel-chested man, bald on top, covered in furs (some of them wolf, you notice), steps out onto the porch.
Here he is:
"What you humans doing here?" he growls.
Jester looks over his shoulder, to the south, "Bringing you more fur?"
What do you do?
The jibe from Jester doesn't register, not even when Jester smirks as you slap his arm. This man looks past you, towards the frozen trees. "What you want?" He isn't making eye contact, doesn't seem nervous, just watching the south.
Behind him is an open room, with no furntiure at all. There's a huge cast iron stove near a stone fireplace. The floor has been ripped up to make about a ten foot wide hole, seems to go pretty deep.
"No. Cappah does not go round them." The man, evidently calling himself Cappah, answers.
Jester doesn't seem as worried about going in. He seems rather eager to get away from the wolves. "Can we come in?"
Cappah finally looks down, since he's a head taller than Jester. He glares at Jester for a moment. You imagine scenarios where he might pull that carving knife out of the sheath on his leg, or he might just backhand Jester.
"Yes." he answers. He reaches his off-hand to push open the door. IT groans on its old hinges and opens wider. He steps past you onto the porch, still watching the trees.
Jester's totally going in there if you don't do something.
(Rolled: 2d6. Rolls: 5, 6. Total: 11)
OOC: Holding 3. Q1, What does Cappah intend to do?
Jester stops, not objecting to you stopping him, but he looks, well, not sure about staying outside.
Cappah answers simply, "You came here."
Then Jester looks past you, Rossi, and says, "Shit! They're at the treelines!"
Cappah intends on shutting the door soon. The wolves will go away when Cappah shuts the door. Then, Cappah will tend to *them* again. Like always.
First and foremost: who "them" is.
You both enter the place and Cappah closes the door, then puts a fucking log to prop it closed. Looks heavy. Without the door open, it's dim in here.
Jester hobbles over to the hole, and looks in it. Because Jester.
"Whoah..." Jester says with surprise, a touch of awe. "What are they?" He points into the hole.
Cappah's eyes wide in alarm and he starts moving quickly past you towards Jester, "No! Back!" He's probably not going to hit Jester or stab him, but he's going to tackle or shove him, it seems. Or maybe then he'll stab him.
What do you do?
Jester tries to hop back, but it isn't enough for Cappah. He bum rushes Jester, shoving him five feet back. Jester trips over some debris and lands on his ass. Jester scrambles back, but Cappah just stands in his way, his back to the hole.
He looks over at you, Rossi. He's psyched up, but he hasn't lost his shit. Yet. "*They* are. You stay back. No touching. NO EATING!" He puts a finger in your face.
What do you do?
What is down there?
Cappah calms, a bit. Like, he relates to you differently than he did Jester for some reason.
You look down into the hole, and at first, it's the reflections of water. Then, in the murk, you see it moving. Things moving inside it.
They're gray with black and darker gray spotted, well... fish. You recognize them from Underlake. But these things are alive.
What do you do?
I lower my hand and relax my posture a bit. "How long have you been out here?"
"Cappah is always here. Cappah is the keeper."
Jester whistles a little, in surprise. When you look over, he gives you the slightly wide-eyed oh shit, this guy is cray cray look.
Cappah turns to glare at you when you say fish like that. He obviously doesn't like this attention.
After a few silent moments, he answers your second question. "We live here together." Then, after a couple more moments, he mutters, "Cappah is not asshole."
"No." Cappah says as he walks the other way round the pool to grab a handful of some kind of crunchy substance in his hands. He does this mechanically, practiced, like he's done it a hundred times. He trudges back over to toss the crunchy stuff, towards the pool. It falls like snowflakes, and you see dozens of fish surface and eat it voraciously.
Jester asks curiously, "Did you mean "no" you don't get how this works? Or "no" on the anyone else living here part?" He looks around the lodge suspiciously.
"Only we live here." Cappah answers without passion, simply stating a fact.
Jester inquires tentatively, "What, uh.... what do you eat?"
"CAPPAH DOES NOT EAT!!!!" He stands, hands empty. "CAPPAH DOES NOT EAT THEM! SHUT UP!" He balls his hands into fists, glaring at Jester.
Jester holds up his hands, empty, placating, "Suire, man. Gotcha. We're cool. We're cool, Cappah."
OOC: How can I get Cappah to calm down?
Cappah calms down slightly, looks over at you. "More problem than wolves?" He raises an eyebrow, a hint of intelligence.
If you show him that you think the fish are impressive, he'd calm down. They are dear to him. Dear enough to kill for.
Cappah relaxes when you compliment the fish. He squats down at the edge of the hole, looking down at them, "Cappah found them in warm waters here, living. They talk to Cappah, but not with words. It is special. It is magic."
He looks up, suddenly, an impish smile on his face. He whispers as if sharing a secret, "Cappah knows their names."
Jester asks with genuine interest, "How do you know that?"
To which Cappah answers plainly, "They tell me." He watches the water, still churning with the fish eating, and points at a pair, "That is Sally, and that is Robert. They were mates, but Sally has moved on to Johnathan. Over there is Edward, he is an official..."
"Official of what?" Jester asks and he creeps closer so he can see over the edge, too.
"Government." Cappah answers simply. But you can tell it is a child's understanding, just a word. Cappah goes on to name all fifty eight citizens of this odd government of fish. He tells you gossip and stories of their wisdom. They seem to do, according to Cappah, very normal day-to-day things. Things that people do. From what you can tell, he's been here for years.
Jester is utterly fascinated by Cappah, probing for more information when Cappah grins about a particular fish. After some time, Jester starts humming a tune, just one of his wordless tunes that seem to be an amalgam of other songs bundled together.
Cappah looks at Jester with complete confusion, like he has no idea what Jester is doing. It might set him off, you don't know.
What do you do?
If you can be strong enough to do it, to stand apart from everyone and hold on to some quiet little part of the world – well, I'd like that. I lean back when Jester starts humming, and nudge Cappah, "He's just singing. Tell me about the area surrounding here. We need a way to get back home – are there any parking lots, or cars, or sleds around here?"
Cappah tries to answer your questions, but Jester's singing distracts him. "More ice fields to north, to the lake, broken roads all around. Some buildings west with tools inside. But many wolves and their master there."
He's lost for a moment, but Jester stops singing until he finishes with, " Sled here. Cappah took it. Don't know parking lots." He looks back to Jester, silently asking for more singing.
What do you do?
"The wolves have master." Cappah answers. "The wolves are not friends. The wolves and master want us... for food. I protect them. The wolf master fears me."
Jester grins, "And for good reason, big guy!"
Now if he tries to stop me from leaving, different story.
This sled has me a little more interested though. "What kind of sled? Does it have a motor? I've got some shit we got from the next town over — if it's got a motor, I'd be more than happy to trade supplies for it."
"The sled... it goes on its own." Cappah says carefully, like he's trying to picture what to say before saying it.
Jester hops up, "Can we take a look? Got a window on it?" He's looking around the back, but not moving. You know, just in case.
Cappah frowns, the music now gone. "What you trade, stranger?"
OOC: Last hold — how can I get Cappa to give me that sled?
"Wood for sled." Cappah answers as he rises, starts walking towards the back of the lodge. Jester looks back at you, to see if you're coming. Or, if he should.
He'll swap your wood for the sled. He'll never use it, doesn't even know how.
"You mind if we stay the night, and head out in the morning?" I ask as we head to the back of the lodge, "I'm sure Jester wouldn't mind singing a bit more, if you wouldn't mind the company... That, and watching those fish is fucking relaxing."
Cappah doesn't answer your question about staying, not right away. He's set on heading to the back of the lodge. You pass down a dim hallway, lit only by the bits of sunlight peeking through slats of wood on the far wall. The wood on the floor creaks, and the wind whistles through here in waves.
Jester follows close behind you and you follow Cappah, who walks the hallway past open rooms with supplies picked clean until he reaches what appears to be a communal kitchen. He pulls back a curtain to show you this (minus the rider, of course):
"Wood for sled. Sleep, but do not touch the fish." Cappah says. "Wood outside with wolves?"
"Yeah, outside with wolves." Jester answers. Adding, "But wolves don't eat wood."
"No." Cappah agrees, then he laughs. Grins at Jester and claps him on the back.
Anything more here or do we skip ahead?
I'm good to skip ahead.
It's late at night, early morning. Did you mean to fall asleep? Are you still Ross, or did you relax and sleep with Jester in the furs and blankets Cappah generously gave him?
A wolf's howl woke you. Or maybe you were already waking up, hovering on the edge of it. The howl was far away, a single one, mournful.
Jester is sitting up, the fire from the fireplace and wood stove illuminating him and the area near him. He's right by the hole in the floor, looking down at the fish. Cappah is over by a wall, sleeping the sleep of the dead.
What do you do?
I groggily shuffle over to Jester from the mound of blankets and furs that we've made for ourselves, and sit down next to him — peeking down at the fish. I slip a hand onto his forearm, and whisper, "everything alright?"
Jester looks over at you, his expression reflective. He puts an arm around you, just a chance to be closer. He says quietly, "Yeah, all good. It's just... this guy. This place. It's pretty incredible. You know?"
He leans over to nuzzle against your neck a bit, mostly that cuddling thing, not exactly a prelude to sex. Probably.
Anyway, I nod in agreement... There's not much else to say on the matter, other than, "yeah, it is... I'm not sure how he gets by out here, or how those fish survive, but I kinda like it out here. It's quiet. No raiders or anything..."
"Me, too." He doesn't push anything further, happy to be close to you, intimate. "You wanna find a nice place out in the middle o' nowhere and settle down? Life of peace and music, all that."
I sigh, "It's just not the right time, Jester... if I could talk Poptart and Silica to bolt with us, then sure — but Silica couldn't even stand to be with us for one day. How could I keep an eye on her from outside the city?"
"I know... I know... miles to go and all that." He answers, his breath warm on the side of your neck. "But hey, at least we're on the same page. Gives us a goal, you know?"
He puts a hand on your thigh, turning his body towards you, pulls back to look at your face. "You... you ever think about kids, Rossi?"
I stiffen up a bit when he mentions kids, "that's... I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Jester..." As great a man as Jester is, we've only been together like this a few weeks... I've already got my hands full just taking care of us, and I fucking blew it looking after Silica. "My dad was a fucking shitheel, and my Mom died when I was young... Looking after Silica is the closest I ever got to motherhood, and look how well that turned out..."
He smiles, "Silica's rough around the edges, but she's a good person, Rossi. Just like you. You don't want to hurt folks, but this is a hard world." He reaches out to pull your chin so you look at him. "You'd be one hell of a mom."
He kisses you, then, soft, sweet, "I love you, Rossi."
I'm quiet until he kisses me, and I feel a little tension release in my shoulders... This fucker's trying to seduce me. I bite my lip and eye him dubiously when he pulls back to say he loves me... "I love you too, Jester," I answer calmly. I pause a moment, then add, "we'll see... I don't like the person I am right now. I want to sort my life out, and maybe get out of the city... Then we can talk, OK?"
I kiss him back, then add, "but you'd be one hell of a Dad."
Yeah, he's probably trying to seduce you. Warm fire, quiet place, all that. Except for the big brute sleeping nearby, of course, it's perfect.
"Rossi..." he whispers as he nips at your mouth playfully, the hand on your thigh moving gently. "I like the person you are now. I love her. She's smart, and strong. Now maybe you want to change your choices, that I can get behind." He slowly stars easing you back, nudging you to lie down.
What do you do?
I let go of his chin, and lift myself up onto my elbows, "I'm tired of being Ross... He does horrible things to get by, and I don't want that side of me anywhere near kids. You get that, right? It's very important to me."
"A smart, strong woman is resisting my very skilled advances right now." Jester quips back as he lies on his side, looking at you. He's grinning like an imp, "I don't love Ross, but that's part of you, too. I know you know this, but just saying you'll stop wearing the mask won't make it all go away. Right?"
He sits up, looking back at the fish. "I'm here, with you, Rossi. Through whatever you gotta do. Even if I didn't love the hell out of you, you earned that."
I sit back up with him, and wrap my arms around his waist as he watches the fish, "well... Whatever I've earned, I'm glad you're here with me. I'm glad you're patient with me. I need to learn that, and I need to start trusting you more often..." I kiss his cheek, "it's just going to take me some time, is all..."
Jester snickers once as you kiss his cheek, "Damn right you should trust me. I'm bonafide awesome." He puts his hands down on the floor, pushes himself up to stand, then offers you a hand. "C'mon baby, let's go cuddle and let the wolves sing us to sleep. Tomorrow, we can ride back to Chi-Town and check on our peeps."