midpointsaloon | Another Day, Another Dollar (post-round mingle)

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Another Day, Another Dollar (post-round mingle)

PLAYERS: Everyone!
LOCATION: Midpoint, and anywhere else people want to explore
GOAL: Time to relax after some hard-won rounds.
WARNINGS: None
OTHER: The setting post for those who want to explore

The stagecoach reaches the Ranch... and the cargo isn’t with it. A large, feathery dinosaur reaches the Ranch a little later, with only some of their cargo, having been hit mid-route and between transformations by the bandits.

“Well, we’ll take what we can get,” Lee says sourly at what’s left after the bandits’ raiding - maybe half of the empty crates. He hollers at his ranch hands, “Come get 'em, boys!” Between him and the other workers, and any of the remaining driver team able to be pressed into service (which is mostly just Groot), the crates are unloaded and stacked and filled with supplies for the next train out. Looks like they were useful, after all.

At the end of the day, Lee sends the drivers on their way back to Midpoint, and the bandits can do what they will with their portion of the cargo. Got any use for sturdy wooden crates, friends?

In Tycoon Depot, Tiffany Jamesson has spent a(n enjoyable) day and a half in hiding with Inara, Daylight, and Irene, peppering Daylight with questions and flirting demurely with Inara and Irene, presumably out of boredom. The hand-off with her father goes pretty smoothly, with only Fuwa on the outside - he might be furious, but he's not willing to interrupt and risk the target’s life in a firefight.

Exchange made, kidnappers and bodyguards are free to head back to Midpoint.

In the saloon, North has laid out a buffet of everyone’s favorite foods to choose from, with beer and wine on the house for two days only: the traditional post-round congratulations-or-consolations feast. There’s someone on the piano almost all night providing music, and extra hot water for baths whenever people finally retires to their rooms. Most Players make good use of the additional free food and drink for as long as it lasts; whether for enjoyment, self-medication, or to stave off boredom is their own call.

The dead don't remain so for long, and wake up in jail cells - the same ones they started their round at - at the edges of the game arena around the same time as the round ends, ready to be collected by friends - if there’s anyone who wants to come get them.

The next week and a half belong to the Players to do with what they please, be it sleep all day, spend their hard-earned points on more alcohol, ask lots of questions, or explore the arena. There are no events planned, nothing to steal, no one to murder (unless you really want to, anyway), and plenty of things to learn about and try to get to the bottom of, for any Players not too jaded to try and search. Good luck with that, anyway.

Oh - did you want to know if you won, or how badly you lost? Gonna have to ask North or Booker for your points totals, because there’s nobody who actually announces whether you won or lost...

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For point tallies, supplies, and more!

For point tallies, lots of food and booze, and chatter, North has your back. And your lunch.

I. Dead Man's Doorstep Prison (Closed to Misty)

Soldat has done this a couple times, now. Not as often as some people, but often enough. The game makers dumped them in the worst prison, of course, so they spend the night huddled under the single available blanket in the freezing cell, and hope to hell somebody comes to pick them (and their horse) up before it gets too hot during the day.

Whoever does come get them, it's clear who's inside, because the giant draft mare is waiting outside, and whinnies hopefully at the approaching horse, anxious for company and bored out of her tiny little mind.

II. At the Saloon

Riding wearily back into Midpoint, Soldat isn't trying to hide their presence. They hand off their bay mare to Soap, disappear upstairs for an hour to get clean and changed into more comfortable clothes than the repaired tac vest and not-repaired, half-shredded flannel and jeans. Then they return downstairs, whether to be checked on by team members and rare couple of friends, confronted by rival team members, or just to devour as much of the buffet as North will let them.

Which is a lot of the buffet. North just cheerfully makes more.

But they make themselves stay downstairs for a couple of hours, even though it's clearly getting more and more stressful as the night progresses. But they're trying, okay.

III. Daily Grind,

In their downtime between missions, Soldat has a routine. For years, it was the same: practice, clean, tend the horse; patrol the entire arena for a few days, come back to the Saloon and practice and clean and tend the horse some more; meticulously fold paper in the privacy of their suite when the feelings get too bad.

Now there are people to check on. They still spend a few days out in the dust, riding a circuit all the way around the arena, and can be found anywhere along the route by other intrepid explorers. When in town, they still practice out at the shooting gallery to the north of the central street, still spend time cleaning and maintaining their weapons, but... it's less.

Because they have to fit in a prowl around town to check on people, multiple people, a couple times a day. Have to fit in lunch and dinner out in public instead of in the safety of the suite upstairs. Have to actually... socialize. Or, as is more common, sit in the back and listen to people while they play cards, nurse a single whiskey all night, or create a small horde of little animals out of paper around the table.

Tenterhooks is at his best without a match looming overhead. Maybe needing to divert less energy to attending him makes Misty a better rider, maybe the laxness is easy to pick up on, who knows; but he's faster and surer, and they're afforded the benefit of a beeline free of traps. Setting out immediately upon noting his absence, the trip is made in fine time - he's no racehorse, but he makes up for it in stamina. Tying him is a frantic process, undertaken as if a second wasted on that step might result in the cell being empty once she's reached it.

All but flying down the stairs, she'll be greeted by Soldat in whatever position he's in by early morning. The door is swung aside with visible relief. A canteen is offered reflexively.

"What happened?"

Between their horse greeting hers, and the hurry of footsteps, Soldat is sitting up and looking hopefully at the door by the time she's at the bottom of the stairs. "Misty," they say with clear relief. It could have been any number of people, up to and including Fuwa coming to put another bullet in their head. And even if it is Misty, she's probably not going to be happy.

The canteen is absolutely accepted, though today there's no clinging or hugs, just a hesitant hand reached over to touch her hair, as if making sure it's really her, before unscrewing the cap for a drink.

"Mission success," they explain. "Only because I took out Hajime and distracted Fuwa long enough after." If by "distracted" one means "gets beat on and then shot by", anyway.

Slight as it is, she looks pleased for the contact at least. Less so about the rest. The conflict is quite clear in her expression, all soft eyes and pinched frown.

"That's a hell of a way to phrase it, here I was hearing you'd died." Not good for her, not good for others, even worse for him. She's livid she couldn't be of use, but wrestling with the...grim inevitability of it. The uselessness of a grudge.

He's okay. Better focus. "How are you feeling? Are you alright?"

Well, they did die, but dying is only really a problem if you don't come back. And the game makers have been very clear they're not letting Soldat go any time soon. "I'm tired. Hungry, but what's new, I'm always hungry." They have another few gulps of the canteen before handing it back. "Not looking forward to going back to Midpoint after that. Hajime's poor companion spent the whole fight crying."

I. Heading Home (anyone heading back from Tycoon Depot)

It's a strange atmosphere as they prepare to return to town after the mission. They may have (at least nominally) won the day, but two people are dead and it's difficult to be too pleased about that even if it isn't permanent.

The mood can't stay too sombre all the time, though, not with the memory of Daylight’s interesting acting choices so fresh and Aethon chewing everything he can get his teeth on, from hair to clothing to other horses’ tails.

II. Return

Inara has more equestrian experience than many of the other newcomers, but not in this position or for this distance on this kind of terrain, so she's still tired and aching by the time they get back to Midpoint. The warm water is greatly appreciated, and when Inara returns to the saloon she's wearing a (dusty but still cleaner) dress and her partially-dried hair is tied back in a complex knot that lets her carry her hairpins just in case.

She sticks around in the common area that first evening for longer than she’d intended. The lively atmosphere reminds her of some of the things that she misses from home, so the impulse is part strategy and part loneliness.

III. Around Town

One of the first things that Inara does the next morning is stop by the General Store and check her balance. Not that she doesn't appreciate what's been done for her, but owing favours here seems like a bit of a tricky situation and she isn't all that keen on having men buy her things anymore, anyway.

After that, she's around - in the stables, at the library, outside and torn between enjoying the sun and melting like an ice cube in the hot weather. It's a little easier talking to people with more time between the conversation and the next time they might have to try and kill one another.

[I - Locked to Fuwa]
Ryo's been hanging out with Fuwa until Hajime got back. There's not much else he can do, and Fuwa had been nice to him after The Very Bad Thing had happened. At the moment, he's a ball python draped around Fuwa's neck, but when he realizes Hajime's back, well. "Hajime! He's here! Gotta go! Gotta go!" And the overexcited mantis-turned-snake immediately starts tugging and pulling Fuwa in the direction of the jail.

Or trying to, anyway. He's really only succeeding in wrapping himself around Fuwa's neck...and constricting. (But it is constricting in the direction of the jail. That is something, right?)

[II - Saloon, OTA]
Ryo's much happier once Hajime's back out of the jail and walking around amongst the living once more. He's in high spirits the entire ride back to Midpoint. Hajime is...well, not exactly happy he both didn't get a straight fight and ended up leaving poor traumatized Ryo alone, he's handling things okay. Having infiltrations die on Jaunts back in his last round of being jerked around by too-powerful beings certainly helped, even if he hadn't really been himself in those cases.

And now, there is gossip to contend with. In his haste to get at the other Undead he'd been sensing since he arrived in this world, he had ended up abandoning his team to go to the brothel for perfectly innocent fight-picking purposes.

It's just that it's a really hard thing to explain away and Hajime's allergic to properly explaining things even at the best of times anyway, oops. He's just. Going to try to ignore any chatter about that.

This is fine.

[III - Around Town, OTA]
In an effort to distract Ryo (and himself, but mostly Ryo, let's be honest), Hajime decides to take one of the forms he picked up on a Jaunt to take Ryo on a run--it's Ryo's favorite, one that looks like a seven-foot-tall mantis. Hajime's not the most graceful runner, but that's okay. Most of the running isn't going to be on the ground. Hajime makes the change behind the saloon, Ryo climbs up on what passes for his mantis shoulder, and off they go. Hajime quickly climbs up the building, gets up to the roof, and proceeds to hop from building to building, thinking that he is totally subtle and that no one will think to look up and spot the giant mantis. Or if he does think about it if only for a moment, he decides that he doesn't care.

From the ground, the much smaller mantis clinging to the larger one may not be visible, and it just might look like Ryo's had a sudden, massive growth spurt. A faint, Ryo-like "wheeeee!" can be heard from the ground during the jumps, and the eagle-eyed among the Players may very well spot him having a bit of much-needed fun.

Edited 2020-05-29 03:34 (UTC)

All right, it's time to be a grown-up and spend some of her own money. It's still a bit disconcerting to see the exact same man here as in the store in Tycoon Depot, but Inara hides her double-take and smiles.

"Good morning, I'm here to check my balance."

"Ryo--!"

Excuse you, baby snake boy, Fuwa is sitting innocently here trying to eat and you're wrapping very tightly around his throat. He drops his fork to try and work his fingers between Ryo and his windpipe. "We don't have to leave right now, he's fine!"

Ryo has been patient enough, thank you very much! He is also far too excited to think of anything else and far too unaware of his own baby snake strength. "No! Gotta go now! Gotta make sure he's fine!"

Inara doesn't know exactly what happened in the fight that had taken him out, but it had definitely been noisy and had left both him and Hajime dead, which fills in most of the blanks that she actually needs to know. On the one hand, she's still kind of irritated that it had gone down that way because it was never going to meet the stated goal of repairing relations between the two rival team captains, but on the other, she does have to be grateful since the sacrifice was made partially on her behalf and they had come out of it somewhat successfully.

She doesn't sit, but she stops by Soldat’s table once she spots him alive in the saloon. "Back in one piece?"

There is a lot of snake to try and untangle and he is very tight around Fuwa's neck. This is not a grea combination, and Fuwa is making very little headway trying to remove the snake gently. Which is bad, because he's also got very little air.

"He is, now stop--" please Ryo.

"We have a balance?" Hajime is trying to act like he knows exactly what he's doing. He does not. But he's also got a few things he wants to try to buy, or at least price, and this is how he's got to go about doing it, isn't it?

"Do you have candy?" Ryo's got his own priorities. "Or toys?"

"Can't stop!" Ryo whines, "Got to go! Go now!" He thinks he might have accidentally tied himself in a knot, he is so excited!

Sorry, Fuwa. He's not going to be able to relax until he's on his way to go see Hajime.

It does not particularly help Hajime’s reputation with Inara specifically that she had spent the better part of a day with Irene, who had been frustrated with him for immediately taking off for the brothel instead of working. Luckily for him, she's too polite to bring it up, especially so soon after being involved in his death.

That's why she's here right now, actually. "Are you all right?"

And there's one person they need to check in with. Soldat spies them on their way back from a third serving from the buffet, and pauses at North's counter for a pair of beers. It's worth the points, in this case, they figure. At least the rest of dinner is free.

They sets one on the table in front of Hajime. And a mochi ball in front of Ryo, at North's whispered suggestion and offered platter of the things. Their expression is hard to read, subtle and maybe with shades of a lot of things. But it's not remotely hostile, even if it's hard to see it as apologetic.

They look tired, anyway, but not too stressed yet by the noise and the people. They can look up from the little sitting dog they're folding out of paper, and muster a small smile for her. "Yeah. I've died more times than I can count, now." It stopped having any real trauma associated with it even before they made it to Midpoint.

Booker's not as good at hiding his own, completely blank, stare when she walks in, but he very quickly lights up with a charming grin. "It's a pleasure seein' y'all again, Ma'am. Your current balance is..."

He pauses, tapping one hand on the counter as he thinks, and gives her another smile. "One hundred points! Congratulations - that must've been a decisive victory!"

Edited 2020-05-29 05:01 (UTC)

Try saying that one to her face, Soldat.

A wave; the canteen is his. She resurges thirsty and even if it isn't universal, she feels better knowing he's got it on him. "Back there, you eat, and I don't see you out of bed or off the couch unless there's been some hours in between."

A beat, and then as they approach the door: "Tell me you weren't mean to that poor mantis--"

Primary focus is the buffet for as long as it's on offer, but at some point during the first evening back Misty makes a point to hustle over North's way; she tries not to pester him when possible, even custom dishes feel too great an ask, but tallies are hardly so demanding.

"Hey, popping in to check my balance and compliment the food-?"

That's not really a good thing, but at the same time, whatever gets him through the day. "I can't say things went entirely to plan, but we made the handoff."

She takes a glance at the animal figures already on the table and can't hide a sad smile. It's not wholly like Wash’s dinosaurs but it's enough to make her miss him.

"I shot his person in the head," Soldat says, a little sadly, but they keep the canteen, maybe even hold it against their chest a little, as if clearly grateful for it and a little uncertain they deserve it. After all, they did make a shape-shifted mantis child cry. "I think that probably counts as mean."

But they do scoop up their lantern to sling over one shoulder, and collect their rifle and plethora of knives from the shelf outside before climbing the stairs after her. "And I promise. I will eat a lot."

"Every active pl-player has a balance--" Booker stares with an odd blankness at Hajime for a moment, before his polite smile is abruptly back in place as he continues, "Mister Aikawa. Y'all can earn up to fifty points for losing when you participate i-in a round, and up to one hundred for winning. It all depends on how entertaining the higher ups thought y'all ma-ma-made it."

He turns his attention to Ryo, and smiles gently. "What kind of candy would y'all be interest-ested in? We've got a pretty wide variety," he adds, gesturing behind him at the lower shelves - there's hard and soft peppermints, peanut brittle and taffy, gum and sherbert wafers, and a line of jars with numerous different kinds of pickled jalapenos.

Edited 2020-05-29 12:19 (UTC)

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Page 1 of 12

Another Day, Another Dollar (post-round mingle)

Booker's General Store

Nicholas St. North at Midpoint Saloon

Bucky/Soldat | OTA

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Inara | OTA

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Re: Booker's General Store

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