2017-09-02: Little Twister Is A Perfectly Fine Town
- Log: Little Twister Is A Perfectly Fine Town
- Cast: Rudy Roughnight, Avril Vent Fleur, Gwen Whitlock
- Where: Little Twister - Dusty Lane
- Date: September 2nd 2017
- Summary: As it happens, people who stand out a bit in Little Twister attract unwanted attention. Fortunately, kindness once again has its day.
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
It's hard to tell why a boy like Rudy is drawn to a place like Little Twister. But whatever the reason, he seems to be comfortable walking down the lawless streets as dusk settles over the horrid little town. While previously the Hand Cannon, his powerful ARM, was concealed carefully; but now it is openly displayed and slung over his shoulder, seemingly as a warning to any that may believe him to be weak. At one point, the doors of some poorly made bar open up, and miscretants of all strips are forced onto the street, perhaps fleeing when told there was no more booze to be had. One of the men wanders over toward Roughnight, looking down at the stringy boy, whispering some sort of threat as he nods toward the expensive ARM.
With a slightly pained expression, the boy states calmly, "I don't want to have to hurt you. Please don't make me."
The man looks down, noticing that the bowie knife Rudy carries at his side is now out and silently ready to stab the aggressor's gut.
The gruff outlaw takes a few steps back before running off which apparently causes the blue haired boy to be given wide berth.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Avril?"
So asks the pigtailed red-headed girl, nervously glancing this way and that where she stands, just outside the town limits. Her hesitation is visible, her whole body rigid. "Don't tell me you went in here...!!"
Dusk settles in on Little Twister, and even from the outside this place looks unwholesome.
BECAUSE, EARLIER
"...Hmm," Avril had murmured, squinting at part of the inactive Gear. There's... something about this. She feels like she can do something with this. If only she had the right object...
"Rebecca. If you are able to stay here, I am going to visit the town nearby. I believe they might have something we could use."
"...Are you sure? You'll be on your own." Nervously, Rebecca chewed on her lip.
"Yes. But one of us must stay here, and I believe I know what I am looking for. Please don't worry. The town is not far, and I will be back soon."
AND THEN HOURS PASSED
Currently, far from where Rebecca stands, eyeing Little Twister dubiously, Avril stands in one of the little alleyways, not far from where Rudy has an altercation with a man who has had perhaps a few too many drinks.
She stares at the ARM leveled at her in silence.
"...You heard me, girlie? Hand everything you have over niiice and easy, and maybe you'll get to walk away. Heh..."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
Even Little Twister needs packages delivered. They're just not that plentiful, and the danger the town presents makes it not a popular choice for most couriers.
Most.
There's one willing to do so, and she's there right now, stepping out of the small white adobe Ethos church, an elderly nun gratefully clasping the courier's gloved hands with her wrinkled own, before letting her leave.
The more experienced denizens of the town leave her alone for the most part, using the same rules they'd apply to anyone able to manage surviving this town: stay out of their business, and they'll stay out of yours.
Brushing a hand along the fine silver hair of Gulliver's back, Gwen looks up, managing to catch a familiar glimpse of blue hair.
Uh, wait. That can't be him, could i-
Yeah, it's Rudy, one of one of the last people she'd ever expect or want to see in a town like this, if for reasons far more complicated than 'Rudy might get hurt'.
Nono, Rudy _might hurt someone_. "H-hey...! Rudy! Um, hey! What'ca doin' here, of all places...?"
And that's the moment Gwen manages to catch sight of another dispute, the fine long sliver hair and green dress marking Avril as 'not from around here'. Avril also can't really be a Seraph either, if she's getting held up like this. Unless the ruffian holding her up happened to have some very unique abilities concerning their spiritual sight. "Guardians, preserve me. Uh. Rudy. Sorry, one sec."
Rudy will see Gwen suddenly making a polite little jog over to Avril, knowingly interrupt one of those core rules of Little Twister, hoping another rule will hold fast as protection.
"She's with me." Yes, that's Gwen, looking about as threatening as a young woman with freckles and a pout could possibly look in an alleyway.
It's sort of on purpose.
Because Her knife's out too, now, in her gloved right hand. "She ain't got nothing of worth to take anyway."
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
Now no longer bothered by his previous problem, Roughnight turns his attention toward Gwen as he sheathes his knife. While the woman's warm greeting gets a soft and warm smile from Roughnight, there's definitely a hint of sorrow in his expression. Maybe it's something left over from the grief of Adlehyde, maybe it's something new. Either way, there's not really much time for even Rudy to offer a word before problems begins for someone else who doesn't really seem to have frontier experience such as Gwen.
While Whitlock seems content to race and defend, Rudy seems to merely walk calmly in the background. As she offers her words, Roughnight merely moves so where he can be seen. He's just opening up his ARM, sliding in bullets into the cartridge before letting it snap back with a loud ka-clack as he looks toward the man accosting Avril. He doesn't have to say much in the wake of Gwen's words, but it seems his action might speak loud enough as he continues to walk until he's behind her and slightly toward the left.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
If Avril notes Gwen's approach, she doesn't show it, remaining as stiff and still as a statue as the younger girl falls in alongside her.
Rules are made to be broken, as they say.
"She's with you, huh? Don't tell me..."
He glances pointedly between Gwen and Avril, a slight smirk on his lips. "You're sisters, and she was just out pickin' up the bread. She dress like this all the time?" He jerks his head towards Avril, who remains as still as before, gaze fixed only on the man holding a weapon in her face.
If a look alone could cause a man to burn, this one would be in ashes by now.
"...Spirited one, huh?" Slightly the would-be mugger shrugs his shoulders.
"...Why do you seek what is not yours?" Avril says, at last, continuing to attempt to stare down the much bigger, older, stronger man.
"Why? 'Cause if you can't keep it, you don't deserve t' keep--"
He freezes, himself. His gaze slides over to Rudy, drops lower to the ARM the boy wields. A silent yet visible calculation plays itself out. Three people now. Could there be more? How much is this woman's apparent wealth worth to him? How far is he willing to go?
There's a long, long pause.
He lowers his own ARM with a 'tch', his gaze sweeping the trio as he scowls.
"Y'got lucky this time," the would-be mugger mutters, before withdrawing further into the depths of the crooked little alleyway, a furtive glance tossed back before he vanishes from sight.
Avril's gaze follows him for a few moments more before she finally, finally looks between Rudy and Gwen.
"...Would someone want another's possessions that strongly?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
The faint hint of sadness gives Gwen some pause. It's likely been a a hard week or two for Rudy, being forced to adjust to this new locale. It's probably been just as hard on Avril, if in different ways.
"Of course not." Gwen waves a dismissive hand. "I'd give my right arm for clear skin like that. However, she *is* a friend of mine. I sure do appreciate y'keepin' an eye on her." Come on, now. The rogue simply needed to attack her just the way Gwen wants him to, that or let her right right in his face-
Oh. Well.
That was *not* the expression Gwen was expecting, but it'll work.
Gwen doesn't quite see Rudy until his steady footsteps alert her to his approach. She mostly deduces the rest. Even if Rudy didn't possess the advantage of being a sort of 'wild card' due to being the 'quiet, innocent-looking, normal young man hefting a dangerous weapon with a startling amount of confidence', there was the advantage of numbers here now, as well as AVril being... Avril. Who is still somehow _not a Seraph_.
Come to think of it, both he and Avril are completely unlike the usual sorts that populate Little Twister.
"People do what they can to get by in this town," Gwen answers with a wince and a smile. "N' that includes takin' from others. You best stick with me until we find one of your friends, Ms..." Her mouth twists. "... Avril, is it? One of your buddies was callin' you that. That or I misheard." She gestures beside her to the silent Rudy. "This is Rudy Roughnight. You can't stumble across a more earnest Drifter in these parts." She pauses. "... Especially... in these... immediate parts..."
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
When the man walks away, only then does Rudy Roughnight put away his own weapon. After all, with three people about, it lessens the need for defensive brandishing greatly. The blue haired boy takes in Avril's question, but doesn't really answer. After all, the lad isn't for speaking when there is someone else to offer their insight. So when Gwen speaks, her wisdom gets a simple nod of affirmation from the Drifter on the nature of men in such locations.
As the introductions are made, Rudy looks toward Avril as the name and appearance clicks. "We met before. On a dig," he offers softly with a minimalistic flare. Still, despite Rudy's simple response, there is still a kind warmth in what few words leave his wind chapped lips. "Glad you're both doing well despite, well..." A glance is given toward the direction Guardian Temple, the battlefront that once was and who knows what else.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
For all that she has the strange appearance of a Seraph, looking somewhat otherworldly and out of synch -- particularly for a place like this -- it appears that... she isn't.
It's admittedly an understandable mistake to have made.
"Hm..." Avril appears to consider Gwen's answer, her head dipping in a shallow nod. "What he said was true, then. The strong seize what they choose from those who are weaker. ...I have heard a similar sentiment before."
Her lips purse into a slight frown, her gaze distant, recalling an incident in a town on the other side of the continent. A young man, trouble with a mirror. A near-execution event. "...Humans also behave in this manner..."
Slightly, Avril shakes her head. "We have met. Rudy and I cooperated with some others at the Ruins of Memory. We have a common affliction, it appears."
Memory loss.
Her gaze searching his face, she asks, "...Have you recalled anything, yourself?"
This is followed by a glance Gwen's way. "Avril Vent Fleur. Avril shall do, if you like. I, and my friends, are doing well." In spite of the trip west.
She pauses. "I came here to see if anyone possessed a hammer. Would either of you happen to have one?"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Oh, good! Yeah, Avril and I met, er..." Gwen aims a sheepish look in the pale-haired woman's direction. "Not sure I introduced myself properly back then. My name's Gwen Whitlock. I'm a courier."
"-Souper Courier-," chimes a less dangerous-looking drunkard, cackling and waving a bottle in Gwen's direction before stumbling on to commit more acts of helpful debauchery.
"What he said." Gwen seems to treat the town's proclivities with a certain degree of tolerance, letting they all wash away in favor of getting a good look-over of Avril and Rudy. "Avril met me at a spring back east. She, uh, saw my, uh." She makes vague motions to her right arm with her left. "And fed my horse."
So that counts her as a friend of sorts. Or an acquaintance, at the very least. "I'm glad you're both doin' okay. But this town is kinda dangerous, y'know? Like, I ain't sayin' it's so terrible you should never step into it, but bad things happen to good people here."
"-The liquor's DIRT CHEAP and it's GREAT!" says the helpful drunk again, now disappearing for good behind the doors of a nearby saloon.
"It's, uh..." She grins uneasily. "Kinda my..."
A hammer.
"Yeah, I *do* have a hammer. Back at the-"
Wagon.
Which has a few ne'er-do-wells slowly lingering nearby. "Hey, hey, I'm still here, y'know!" She waves her right hand in a wide arc with an enthusiasm caught somewhere between 'hospitality' and 'maliciousness'. "I'd be more than *glad* to deliver a package!" Of bullets, it seems, as the thieves promptly filter away.
"You two have a place to stay? Because I can set one up if you don't. It won't be the most comfortable, and you'll have to entertain some young kids, but I think either of you'd be up to that sorta challenge."
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
"No."
The answer is simple and almost robotic to whether or not Rudy recalled his life before being found, but there is a brief smile that appears as he continues on. "I was really there to help you all more than anything else, if I got my memories back, would have been nice too. All I know was that I was cared for by a man who treated me as if I were his son. That's enough for me." There is a moment where Rudy's eyes glaze over for a moment as he retreats to the memories of the past. Whatever goes through his mind is not shared, but the soft smile returns as he concludes simply. "If Zepet felt it best to not tell about my past, I'm fine with that."
It's clear that this individual Rudy speaks of is held in utmost reverence, as if he were an legendary hero or a paragon of humanity. But to Rudy, he's likely considered as such.
The talk soon shifts toward Avril and how Gwen met her. A simple nod is given toward the information imparted, as Rudy is more than willing to slide back to his old ways despite his previous rare bout of self-disclosure.
The talk of the town being dangerous and needing a place to stay causes the Outcast to shake his head. "This place?" A brief look around is given before Roughnight gives a casual shrug. "It's not so bad. I've been in places a lot less welcoming," he replies with a faint and surprisingly confident smirk. "I'm still with Cecilia and Jack, I just needed some space and time to think. Figured a job or two on the side was good for that, but thanks for the offer." Brown eyes shift from Avril to Gwen. "Could walk you both to the station if you felt you wanted the company and planned on leaving. I'll join the rest of the group soon enough."
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
A simple answer. But one that prompts a nod all the same. "It is the same for myself, it seems. I have yet to remember anything, and yet... I am happy being as I am. Even if I never remembered anything, it would be enough to continue as I am now."
And if it were not for the sense of urgency, that there's something she must do, perhaps she would be content to leave the past in the past.
SOME THINGS ARE BEST LEFT BURIED the Mountain Guardian had said.
"...The man who raised you seems like he was a kind person. He raised you well."
Even if humans can act this way too, there are still kind people in this world. That's what she's willing to defend.
"Gwen. Yes, I see. Next time, I shall remember it," Avril affirms, coupling the statement with a short nod.
They had... sort of not had proper introductions the last time, due to various things sort of happening all at once.
'This town is kinda dangerous'.
Avril glances this way and that. Her gaze lingers a moment on the shady buildings. The debris littering the alleyway. On the helpful drunk who has briefly inserted themself into the conversation. "Oh, is it," she comments, mildly.
"Oh, do you?"
At least she didn't come here in vain.
Though Rebecca may kill her for this, once she learns the details.
"I would like to have it, if I may. We are in need of a hammer to repair a Gear part."
Wait. Does that mean they have...
"No, we do not." Have a place to stay, that is, Avril answering the question Gwen poses about lodging. "It appears that repairs and outfitting may be expensive."
...She's still talking about Gears right?
"Therefore, we have been being frugal and camping."
In the desert.
"If you do have a place that we could stay, however... We would appreciate it. Thank you." Her gaze slips towards Rudy. "If you wouldn't mind walking with us to the outskirts, Rudy. I would like to find Rebecca and wait for Dean before we make a decision."
And she adds, "We are not far out of town. It will not be difficult to find her."
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
It took a moment for Gwen to grasp onto the thread of Avril and Rudy's conversation, due to not quite grasping the context. Rudy, she knew, had been raised by a man that made Frea start grumbling when Gwen mentioned the name to her. And Avril-
Well, it maybe explains the air of mystery about Avril. It's there because Avril doesn't know who she is herself, much less anyone else. "Y'say you're looking for your memories? Seems to be a few people like that, drifting around, for one reason or another. Sounds like you'd connected with a few of em'. If you haven't, I recommend looking up a Drifter by the name of Xantia."
Rudy's words are simple, but touching, all the same. "... One of my earliest memories was someone rescuin' me from a pretty bad incident," she softly relates. "I can't say I ever saw that person again, though I'd like to imagine it was just a matter of me not knowin' what to look for. I guess I just kept meetin' them in the face of every kind person I've ever come across.
A person kind enough to save a dying child from a fire, in a place like Little Twister? A person that kind-hearted couldn't have survived very long.
Which is why Gwen will ensure she does.
"The Ethos church runs an orphanage here." Gwen points to the white stucco church down the road. "If there's room, they'll let people stay for a small donation, provided they're willing to help with the daily chores. Washin', cookin', repairin', dealin' with little kids, all that fun stuff. Just don't expect anythin' fancy-"
A small gang of children run past the three Drifters, laughing obliviously as the dust kicks up in their wake. Gwen closes her eyes briefly, a nostalgic ease settling into her shoulders. "You said you had friends, right, Avril? If y'all can sit tight with no more than two rooms, you'll be golden."
'It's not to bad. I've been in places a lot less welcoming.' Gwen winces, then straightens her lips.
And grins. "Well, Rudy. If you ever need a spot away from Jack n' Cecilia where you'll be welcome, you're always welcome to ride with me in the wagon. I can always use the help, but only if Cecilia n' Jack aren't requirin' your help at the moment."
She's promised to listen before. "Same goes for you, Avril. If there's anythin' I can do for you n' your friends, lemme know. A friend of Rudy's is a friend of mine."
<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.
Another nod is given in the wake of Avril's observation of Zepet's supposed kindness with a simple "Thank you" in response to the compliment, merely turning his head to listen toward Gwen's talk of her early memories. "Sounds nice" is all he states, which would sound possibly patronizing from some, but from Rudy with the tenderness within his voice and smile suggests a child-like simplicity. Finally at the talk of another like-minded soul, Rudy nods. "I've talked to her a couple of times and she was also one of the people on the attempt to regain memories."
The talk of living arrangement is soon shared at the boy seems to be a little nervous at the talk of being around a lot of kids. But the offer is made to travel with Gwen on her wagon. "Maybe to head back, I'll take you up on that, that would be nice," he states simply.
For now, Roughnight is unsure exactly where he's going outside of his group's larger goal. So for now, merely traveling with some company is likely something he needs, even if it's something that doesn't seem to come natural to him at the moment. But that's the advantage of having friends in places of low repute, one could suppose.