[log] The Pit [open]

[snowblindmods]

Characters: Anyone participating in the Pit event.
Location: A room.
Date: Day 330
Summary: You wake up in a room.
Warnings: general warnings; potential for morbid/suicidal thoughts; note specific warnings in subject line, please!

Comments

[devoutish]

[Does he ever. He looks up, tired but still definitely interested.]

Yeah. There's a good chance anything you hand off to me isn't gonna stick, though.

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys blinks, and frowns slightly.]

Worth a try, at least? This is the first time I've ever done this where I got to keep my stuff.

[Last time he was naked in a hospital gown. This is an improvement.

But he offers a packet to Alfie, a carefully wrapped bundle of candy wrappers held together with a small tab of duct tape.]

It's not a lot, two bags of chamomile and two bags of black, but if I get to the grocery store, I'll have more. This is at least a treat for the two of you.

[devoutish]

Much appreciated.

[He pulls out his glasses to examine the little bags.]

Chamomile-- yeah, that'll be good after we get out of here.

[sleight_of_fate]

I've been cold-brewing it in bottles, since hot water is hard to come by. Just put the bag in the bottle with water and leave it for a day or two, and you'll get...well, cold tea, but drinkable.

The used bags are good for skin rashes, too. Windburn or heat rash.

[He's kind of nerved up, and rambling a little. But it's useful information, at least.]

[devoutish]

Yeah. We used 'em for that during the war.

[He tucks the bags deep into his backpack, then zips it shut.]

[sleight_of_fate]

[That gets a blink out of Rhys, as it registers that Alfie is from a different era.

Of course. He's seen it written on the walls every so often, in the building's he's slept in. It clicks, and he has the grace to look embarrassed. Teaching your grandmother to suck eggs...]

Well, enjoy it, anyway. Consider it a good will gesture, between you and Royce. It's nice to finally meet you, though not under the circumstances.

[devoutish]

[Wordlessly, he reaches over and holds out a hand for a proper shake. This is how they do things in the old days, kids.]

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys is okay with that. His powers are gone, and anyway, he's been plenty of places where Handshakes Matter. His own grip is firm, confident, a good, solid shake, and the gesture gets a small smile out of him.]

[devoutish]

[Alfie's thin and frail - emaciated, really - and so perhaps unsurprisingly, his grip is on the weak side. It's steady, though, and so there's some semblance of solidity to it.]

That's from Royce, as well.

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys doesn't let his thoughts show in his eyes, even though it might sting to see the toll the town (probably?) has taken, and he just nods as he retreats back into his own space.]

He and I got off to a sort of rocky start, but I think we smoothed it over a bit. This place, you know, it's rough.

I try not to tangle with anyone unless it's over serious shit. There's too much to worry about without pissing matches.

[devoutish]

Then here's to not finding yourself any serious shit, mate. It can be difficult to avoid here.

[sleight_of_fate]

A lot of practice, I guess. And being a natural peace-keeper? Or trying to be.

[There's a rueful smile with that, though. He hasn't been as good at it as he used to be. He's getting bitter. And tired.]

Glad I could help, though. I'll keep an eye out for more, might have some other trades for you in the future, as soon as I figure out what I'm in the market for.

[devoutish]

Is that what you do then? Trade and gather, like us? You've also been involved with experiments, yeah?

[sleight_of_fate]

I'm just trying to do what's useful, mostly. Back home, I was a healer and hunter, but I don't have my usual abilities, here, so I've just been...

Trying to find what does some good, mainly. Some of my supernatural knowledge is useful here, some of it's waaaay off.

[He is the guy that got himself stabbed, after all.]

But supplies? Supplies are always useful. And I lived on the street for a long time, so I'm used to improvising.

[devoutish]

What else have you found? Anything useful?

[sleight_of_fate]

Mmm. A few knives and tools. Tape. Candles. Mostly things I'm using myself, but...

[He glances around furtively. He has a fireplace poker to defend himself, but he's still not going to advertise that he has stuff worth stealing.]

Cigarettes and condoms, too. I'm keeping at least a couple of the condoms for myself, but I don't smoke nicotine. Hoping to get some booze for those, or...I don't know. Something else useful.

[devoutish]

[Alfie arches an eyebrow, lowering his voice in kind.]

You've got use for condoms here?

[sleight_of_fate]

Well, I might be being overly optimistic.

[At least as far as their normal purpose is concerned. Though, hope springs eternal?]

But they can also be used to keep things dry, emergency rubber gloves for things you don't want to touch with your bare hands, or to carry water. They're always useful to have around.

[devoutish]

Put 'em on your feet. You'll want to keep them as dry as you can.

[sleight_of_fate]

Yeah. It's the wet that kills. I dry my boots and socks every night.

[He taps the ground with one of his black, oiled leather workboots. He actually was dressed for winter when he was taken, giving him a huge advantage here.]

...I was homeless for a few years before I wound up here. I guess it was good practice.

[He tugs at his cap. He's not that old, maybe around thirty, but there's weight in his eyes that reflects they're hard-lived years.]

That's where I picked up my medical skills. So it's a lot of patchwork. But it means I can take whatever I've got in my hands, and work under pressure.

[devoutish]

[He nods, understanding.]

I was a soldier. Never thought you'd need those skills in a place like this, did you.

[sleight_of_fate]

You know, I don't really know?

[He considers Alfie, and that little tug in his heart that makes him want to impress the man. Wants his approval. He pushes it down, but suddenly he feels very young again.]

It's good that it's useful, at least. That I wasn't completely lost when I got dumped here. But it's a hard way to do things.

I'm used to it, I've done it this way for a long time, but...I get tired. sometimes.

[devoutish]

That tiredness--

[He says it carefully, quietly, trying not to sound too tired himself.]

That tiredness, that's not gonna go away. It's gonna get worse. If you have not yet found things that make you feel just a bit less tired, you've got to make that a priority.

[sleight_of_fate]

[Rhys has to think a long few seconds on that, matching it up against what he already knows. What he's felt for a while now, quietly eating away at his reserves while he tries to put on a brave face.]

Yeah. I didn't...I mean, things weren't good at home. I don't have any reason to believe here should be any better, but it's not like there's a lot of choice, you know?

[devoutish]

Were things not good in the way things aren't good here, or in a different sort of way?