[log] Hsiaoke Pass Blues [closed]

[ecks]

Characters: Ecks, House, Kesara, and Zach
Location Building 124
Date: Night 130
Summary: The moles spend a hard-earned night in a new building, knowing that the morning will bring an expedition into the unknown.
Warnings: None yet.

124: This house, covered in snow, is dark and cold, but better than outside. The snow presses in on the windows and makes the roof creak and groan whenever it shifts, but it seems to be holding up alright. It's a standard, single-story house with a living room, single bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, and dining room. The house is sparsely furnished, unfortunately with mostly metal There's a back door leading off into darkness, but it isn't locked.

Comments

supply dump - open

[ecks]

They have done it -- Kesara was right and they have found their way to a new place. It is too soon to know whether the twisted wreckage they saw through the other door is a passage to somewhere new or only a dead end, but what Ecks does know is that whether they press on or whether they turn back for supplies, she is carrying too many things that are not needful.

She sits against a wall with her tablet turned on beside her for illumination, methodically pulling items from her bags and pockets and setting them out before her. Now and then she'll shift items to lay them together, and now and then she'll pause to stare at the things, struggling to remember why she has grouped certain things together. Her head does not hurt so much these days, at least not when she takes the tylenol, but she's bone weary and she's vaguely aware that her thoughts are not as quick and clear as they should be.

[rubikscomplex]

She's not the only one not at her sharpest. Apart from Zach, all of them are still in recovery from the radiation sickness, and House hasn't been eating or sleeping enough on top of that. He should change that. It would make his life easier if he changed that, and he can force himself into it, but Ecks' efforts do catch his attention.

Is that... It is!

He stands and goes to crouch down beside her. "You didn't tell me you had a harmonica." House points to the instrument. "What do you want for it?"

[ecks]

House gets a blank look at first, until he points and she can follow the direction of his gesture to the metal flute thing. "It makes sounds like a flute," she says, misunderstanding, stuck in her thoughts about why things are or are not worth carrying. Her brain catches up a moment later, though, and she looks up at House's face. "A knife?" She suggests. "Or tools, or warm things, or something for fire?"

[rubikscomplex]

Well, she's not getting his scalpel, penlight, hammer, or screwdriver. He can't offer anything that he was going to trade with Alfie.

"I've got a corkscrew." He rises and goes over to his pack, rummaging around and pulling that out to present to her. "Good for pulling small things out of bigger things. Or just stabbing people." Since she seems to be into that.

[ecks]

Ecks reaches out for the corkscrew -- if he lets her, she'll take it to turn over in her hands for a closer look; if he doesn't she'll satisfy herself with just leaning in to eyeball it.

"Not very good for stabbing people," she decides, but that's not really the point -- she has scissors, and better than that she has a shovel. Weapons are good, but tools are potentially more important, even if she's not entirely sure what she would be removing from what else with the screw.

"Maybe," she decides, then pauses for just a second before tapping the two glossy paper rectangles she's set on the floor (House will recognize them as a pair of bookmarks, one with a picture of a puppy, another with a picture of a snake). "Do you have any nice pictures?"

She's building a collection, see. They go with her fake cat.

[rubikscomplex]

He could point out that he already gave her the shovel and she owes him. Maybe. If it gets to her being stubborn, he'll pull that card, but he'd rather save it for something else. House does let her take the corkscrew and look it over. When she points out the bookmarks, he glances down at them and thinks about it for a long moment before taking out the postcard he'd snagged at the post office a while back. It has bears and a mountain.

"What about this?"

[ecks]

He'd probably have a fair bit of luck with that, actually. Ecks doesn't pass the corkscrew back yet, but perks up at the sight of the card. It's kind of like her puppy picture, but with bears!

"The corkscrew and the picture for the..." what was the word he used? It's not coming to her. "Metal flute."

[rubikscomplex]

"Harmonica," he corrects before snatching it up. "And deal as long as this thing works." House sits back on his heels and takes a few deep breaths. "Anybody sleeping, you're about to get woken up!" That's directed to Kesara and Zach. Harmonica's aren't exactly quiet instruments.

And then he begins to play. It's only a short little tune to make sure the harmonica itself is in tune, but and he's honestly delighted to find that it is. House holds the last note, and then drops his hand down. There's a small smile on his lips as he looks down at the instrument. He wipes it away quickly, though.

"Yeah, it works. We're good."

[ecks]

Ecks had liked the sounds she was able to get out of the little device, but she's never really understood music -- never even heard many songs before Doctor House started playing them over the network. She'd picked her way along the notes when she found the thing and realized what it was, but it's a shock to hear what it sounds like when played properly. She catches his smile, and starts to mimic it before it disappears again.

"We are good," she repeats. Maybe the corkscrew will be useful and maybe it will not, but this seems a good trade regardless.

[rubikscomplex]

House considers the other objects in her pile since he's here, and his eyes catch on the stethoscope he'd used a few days before. "You wanna lend me that, I'll lend you my first aid kit. It's better than whatever crap you've got, and I'll be leaving tomorrow. We can trade back when I get back. Use whatever you want out of it, just not everything." A pause. "I'm taking some of the band aids, too."

[ecks]

She hasn't been using the stethoscope -- hasn't been following his instructions. For a second she thinks he's going to scold her for that when the reason is that she is so tired and sound and light can still be overwhelming. She's relieved when instead he merely offers a temporary trade.

"That is acceptable," she agrees, not bothering to argue the virtues of her own mostly depleted first aid kit. "I know how to change my bandages."

[rubikscomplex]

"Good. I'll be away for a while. Which means I need you to take detailed notes of what you find past that door. I want a map we can use when I'm headed back this way." Because if he's going to leave the chance for exploration and discovery to someone else, he sure as hell is going to get some bang for his buck here.

[ecks]

"I can do that. I can take notes. I can send you notes." All true statements, though she's not entirely certain of her skill set re: drawing maps. She's troubled, though. "Why will you be away?"

[rubikscomplex]

"Food. I'm almost out. And I need to go pick up the microscope from the hospital if we're moving into an entirely different area. I don't want to have to hike twice as far when I can just stash it somewhere closer to the entrance over here." The lie comes easily, naturally, not missing a beat.

[ecks]

Those sound like good reasons, though they also sound like frustrating reasons. If he is going to walk all the way back to the hospital it will be many days before he comes back even if the weather remains clear.

Ecks lets out a little sigh, then points out, "I am also going to run out of food. We are all going to run out of food soon."

[rubikscomplex]

"So send Letterman to the school or the convenience store. Or tell someone heading this way to pick you up more. I'm going for the microscope first. It'll be out of the way for anyone just trying to get food back here." Look at how reasonable he's being, Ecks. How could you not go along with this?

[ecks]

All perfectly logical, of course. A run for food would be done quickest to the north, a run for the hospital by following the southern wall. She nods reluctantly, turning the corkscrew over and over in her hands without looking at it. He will be alright. He is only traveling a few places, and his leg works again now. This is no more dangerous than exploring with them, probably less so, even if he is the worst at not dying.

"Tell me when you come back near here," she says instead of voicing her worries.

[rubikscomplex]

"Well, if you're sending me nightly reports, that's gonna be real easy. I'll let you know, kid." He says it dismissively, but the fact that he's agreeing likely says more than he wants. Not that he... really expects to be back here any time soon. He needs to keep the Joker away from these people if the guy ends up snagging him and he can't get away.

[ecks]

Nightly reports are good. That will mean she has two to write each day, but routines are soothing and it probably means he'll write back at least some of the time.

"That is acceptable," she decides. Not good, mind, but acceptable. She pulls the corners of her mouth back in something that's almost a natural smile. "I will not wait for you. I will find all the new places while you are gone and there will be nothing left for you to find out when you return."

[rubikscomplex]

He can't help the small smile that curls his lips at that. Someone's been picking up Kesara's tactics. "Damn, that's cold, man. Guess I'll have to be quick and hope you idiots get lost." Don't get lost, Ecks. It will be inconvenient.

[ecks]

"It is always cold here." Banter or too-literal interpretation of the phrase? The world may never know. "You will have to be very quick because I am good at not getting lost."

[rubikscomplex]

Ecks, sometimes that deadpan delivery actually works for you. House huffs a laugh. "Twenty bucks and a pack of cigarettes say I can make it there and back before you make it to the other side of the tunnels. Don't care if you don't smoke. Everyone wants cigarettes. Better than condoms."

[ecks]

She's not sure what bucks are in this context, but it's probably something good, and the main point is the cigarettes. Apparently. "And if I don't?" she asks. "I do not have cigarettes to give you." Nor condoms, sadly.

[rubikscomplex]

"Then I get to keep your stethoscope permanently." Might as well get something good out of it if she's going to take it as a serious bet. He's not wed to the cigarettes, really. "Sound fair, kid?" He holds out his hand to her. "You shake on a deal. Or you seal it in blood, but I prefer handshakes as a first resort."

[ecks]

She is taking it seriously, but what else did he expect? If he's telling the truth, she can trade the cigarettes for something even more valuable than the stethoscope, though she doesn't know what yet. "It sounds fair," she replies after a moment of thought, reaching out her own hand. She's not entirely sure what they're doing, here.