lifeaftr | take your last supply [closed]

Entry tags:

take your last supply [closed]

Who: Jack Foley, Muffet, and Tim Wright
What: Ruining some ruins
When: 8/26
Where: H5
Warnings: Will note if something comes up!

God, he wants a smoke.

He left the box of cigarettes behind with the majority of his non-necessities, but quitting cold turkey isn't turning out to be highly conducive to searching the area for anything of use. Still, he might as well help while he can; be a damn sight more useful than he ever was back in the Castle.

Tim's chewing on his nails with a vaguely frenetic edge as he hitches his knapsack a little firmer on his shoulders and squares up to cross into relatively uncharted territory. There's the distant, brownish silhouette of the half-crumbled, ruined buildings, and there's him.

And there's...whoever else might have had the same idea.

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Jack hadn't gotten to where he was at the age of 68 through avoiding the odd leap of faith and he's never shied away from playing a game of long-odds if he could see a way to benefit from it in the end. Unlike most of his younger counterparts, Jack doesn't require instant gratification, he's willing to put the time and effort in to get where he wants to go. In fact if he were to be honest, he prefers it that way. He might even, if asked about the subject, be inclined to ramble about 'patience making the reward twice as sweet.'

Endurance and determination are virtue in and of themselves, you see.

And this is the mindset that Jack is applying to his current situation. He's been dealt his hand, now he needs to make it work, and that will take starting at square one and plunging in with gusto. So how else to start than by taking part in the efforts to explore the island? Having rolled up his jacket and cardigan and stuffed them into his knapsack, he proceeds in his buttoned shirt and slacks, using the engraved compass ticks on the metalwork of his rolex to find his heading. Soon he finds his footsteps sinking a bit in heavily saturated soil and the shapes of buildings breaking the horizon line in the distance.

He also catches sight of brush moving out to his left hand side and stopping he cups his hands around his mouth to call out, "Hello? Is anyone there?"

[Muffet, mostly, had been here to see how intact the ruins were- if they were still mostly together, it might provide some insight as to what the people who built them were like.]

[And if they weren't, well, at least some of the stone might be useful for building shelters of their own.]

[She's not at all surprised to realize that other people have had the same idea, and when she hears the rustling noises she briefly tenses before hearing a slightly familiar voice, at which point she relaxes and steps out with a friendly smile.]

Hello, there. I see I'm not the only one who was curious about this place. Fancy some company while you're investigating?

Muffet he recognizes. The other guy - not so much. But he looks human enough, though he's learned not to make assumptions as far as physical appearance goes. He swivels on the spot before stepping out into the open, glancing between the pair of them.

"Figure it's best to go in a group," he says, shrugging. "'S better than running into something alone. I mean, we might not be alone here."

The map people have been working on was indication enough that there were plenty of things here that might happily enjoy the potential meal a couple humans could provide. He didn't go out the way he did in the Castle to end up some weird predator's meal.

"I'd be willing to wager money we aren't," Jack shifts his pack on his shoulder to balance out the weight better. He's glad for the familiar face of Muffett. "Though whether or not they'll have any interest in us has yet to be seen."

Sorry, Tim, out of the group of old man, spider lady, and yourself Jack would also bet that you appear to be the most appetizing for a wild beast, though he'll concede to the fact that he himself is likely the easiest catch.

"I'm more than glad for the company if you're willing to let me tag along. Who knows, we might find something valuable."

"It's good to see you again, Miss Muffett," He nods in her direction before turning to Tim and holding out an introductory hand, "And its very nice to meet you, son, I'm Jack."

[Well, the good news is that green magic can probably keep you alive if nothing takes too big a bite out of you.]

[It's been noticeably harder to use here than back home, though, so don't push it...]

[Either way, Muffet looks pleased at his politeness.]

Likewise, dearie.

Working in a group certainly seems sensible to me- if we're very lucky, having extra hands to carry a large find helps... and if we're very unlucky, we'll want to have backup.

It's almost disarming when someone complies with the standard issue sort of greeting he'd expect from one human to another - one that grew up in what counts as something of a "normal" society, as far as Tim is concerned.

"Tim," he says, clasping the proffered hand with a sturdy shake. Contact isn't necessarily his favorite thing in the world, but new life experiences are all about doing things you wouldn't ordinarily do. "Ruined buildings like this might have squatters, but I guess we won't know unless we check for ourselves."

That's speaking from his personal experience, which is, admittedly, a pretty narrow window.

There's a soft huff of a laugh at that as he lets his hand drop after the shake, "Don't we also count as a breed of squatter? Or at least potential squatters?"

It's not meant as condescension but rather a statement on their insignificance as a whole on this island.

"Might I ask what brought the two of you out to these parts?" Not that he's complaining. This actually works out much better for him than the initial plan of wandering into the wilderness on his own.

In all fairness, we didn't exactly intend to be brought to this island- I can't help but feel 'squatter' implies something a bit more deliberate.

In my case, I was curious about these ruins specifically. The entire island is interesting, but an actual structure being built here presumably means this place was more important than the rest, for some reason.

"Shelter," he says, which is considerably more taciturn an answer than is maybe warranted - but he's not exactly a talkative kind of guy. "Place was inhabited before we were. Makes it a hell of a lot easier than starting from scratch."

Even if he worked in construction back home, it wasn't what he'd call a job he'd like to do for the rest of his damn life.

He has his flip-knife out as he starts to wander into the ruins in earnest. It won't do much if he gets ambushed, but it's better than walking in completely unarmed.

Jack follows Tim's lead and takes out his hatchett. He's gotten a bit more comfortable with it, the heft of it and the proper ways of swinging the damn thing, but still he's hoping that aside from the odd thick branches and vines he won't have cause to use it.

"Now is that something you know about in detail or just a general assumption based on the fact that there are buildings here?"

In other words, does this young man know anything more about the people that lived here than the simple fact that they lived here or did he pretty much know what they already had figured out: that someone had passed this way long before all of them arrived here.

"So far, aside from the things they left behind, I've not seen head nor hair of one of our predecessors."

[Muffet walks alongside Jack, moving at a calm, smooth pace. She doesn't bother to take any kind of weapon out of her pack, but then again she's probably better off just sticking to her natural abilities if it comes to some kind of fight. Being a magical being means you're never really unarmed.]

I do recall the Storyteller indicating that there was something to them, although I forget the exact phrasing. When I asked about these places they said we should find out on our own- that presumably being more narratively satisfying than simply being given the answer- which does imply that there is something for us to uncover...

Jack's armed. Good. If they get into trouble, at least he'll have a way of keeping the worst of it off his back - though from what he knows from Muffet, she's plenty capable in her own right. Thank fuck.

"As long as it's not something dangerous, that's fine with me." The Storyteller's a facetious prick about some of this, but they're also some kind of...ideological representation of stories as a concept? A god? Something absurdly powerful, no doubt, which is just - awesome.

Tim peers inside one of the buildings, most of the mortar worn and crumbled away.

"...huh."

Some small green shoots pock the rich dirt within, along with several full, leafy plants that look suspiciously like lettuce.

"It's that caveat that concerns me," Jack says it good-naturedly but he's serious nonetheless. "I'm all for a good story, but there's a difference between dramatic irony and just plain getting killed by something the giant rabbit could have warned you about."

After having that said, he is content to quietly follow the others until Tim dares a look in one of the ruins. "Find anything interesting there?" He'll take the fact that nothing seized upon the young man as a positive sign and steps up behind him soon after, squinting a little to try and make sense of the interior.

His gaze falls on the same broad wrinkled leaves of the plants just a few paces off. "Am I just being blindly hopeful or could that bit of green there be what I think it is?" He's certainly eaten his fill of lettuce in his life, but lord help him he's never grown it.

[Muffet pauses to examine the greens, smiling delightedly.]

That depends, do you think they're spring onions? Because I see quite a few of those...

[She's sounding very pleased- the human need for a balanced diet has been worrying her, and it's a relief to find some proper vegetables.]

Honestly, thank god they brought Muffet along; she can recognize what the other two can't. Not that Tuscaloosa wasn't full of its own little centralized ag culture. It's just that Tim never bothered with it.

He kneels, turning up a handful of the surprisingly rich soil.

"Guess the buildings gave the place some shade." He pinches off a corner of one leaf and sniffs at it. "Anybody feeling up to some trial runs?"

He's tried poisoning himself before, but it was with little white pills. Not...this. This potential risk of ingesting something toxic in the search for food.

And besides - there are people who need him.

"Give it here," Jack murmurs. Does he like the idea of potentially poisoning himself? No. But he's fully aware that of the three of them he's the most likely to not last the year anyway and he's not holding out any hopes for a grand rescue from the US coast guard. So he'll volunteer. Its not a weak bid for bravery, its just a matter of practicality.

Thus he holds out his hand and when he has hold of it he lifts the bit of green to his lips, nibbling at it tentatively. There's a beat. Two. As he lets the mild panic ebb away to familiarity.

He then grins.

"Well, you two, it looks like we've found food."

[Muffet is about to offer when Jack reaches out and takes it, and she winces inwardly at the possibility of him being harmed if she's misidentified the plant. Thankfully, her fondness for working with fresh ingredients continues to pay off, and she sighs with relief.]

This would be a good area for growing crops, provided they were the type to be tolerant of occasional flooding. I wonder if that's part of why people decided to build here?

He doesn't have time to stomach the guilt that surges up when Jack takes the offer. He bites down hard on the wall of his cheek, to keep from succumbing to that familiar lapse into self-pity. It doesn't matter. It's already done. You can't dwell on what's already done.

You just...have to keep going. Moving forward. It's how they coped.

(How's that working for them, by the way?)

Thankfully, it proves unnecessary in the end.

"Not sure why they would've planted into the buildings, but, hey. Place is pretty hot." He's not about to complain. And if they have any hope of surviving here without being dependent on a god that may or may not be as wholly incompetent as a certain horned one, it'd be a pretty good plan to work on cultivating their own food where they can.

Jack is more than pleased with their discovery, the threat of potential poisoning already put out of his mind as he peers eagerly at the onions and lettuce poking through the dirt.

Losing everything sure does make you appreciate the simple things, doesn't it?

"Well, I would guess it helps to hold some of the moisture in as well but that's me taking a shot in the dark," He casts a glance over to Muffet, "You seem to know more about all of this than we do," a small gesture to indicate himself and Tim, "does growing vegetables inside a building make any sense to you?"

[Muffet considers it. She's not an expert, but she's learned enough about growing food items to have fresh ingredients on hand- with the added bonus of not having to pay for them.]

It depends on both the vegetables and the building in question, really. Some things do better with minimal sunlight, or a certain temperature that would be easier to achieve indoors.

Or it might have been less about the crops themselves and more about protecting them from scavengers, now that I think about it. Between the different kinds of wildlife we've seen so far, and all the parts of this island we haven't explored yet, I have no trouble believing they might have had some rather interesting pest problems.

"Maybe they built over someone else's farmland. Or...I guess glass wouldn't be real practical, so greenhouses were out." There's probably a way to make glass with all the sand lying around, but he finds it doubtful that it'd be something that would last, just based on what creatures he's started seeing around here.

Either way, he's not about to question good fortune.

"I vote we try to keep this plot going, long as we can." He's gotten used to rationing; a little more won't kill him. "Better to have renewable food in the long-term than one good meal."

"I would have to vote the same." Jack gives a solid nod. "It might even be a good template for creating other plots like it, given this one seems to have been fairly successful."

It's one thing to keep the one plot going but if they could get a larger scale of farming going then all the better, right? There are many mouths to feed on this island and crops are distinctively vulnerable things so there's no guarantee that one plot will always yield a consistent harvest.

"Muffet, would you know how to get seeds from any of these? Ones we could potentially plant elsewhere?" Then a look around, "And maybe there's more in some of these other buildings..."

Agreed. The nice thing about plants is that they don't have to be one-use-only, if you're careful. I can take some cuttings from a few of these and see how they do in other places...

[She's already idly considering locations, but she nods in agreement when Jack mentions the other buildings.]

Yes, we should probably finish looking through those before we do much else- no sense in getting too distracted.

He makes a mental note of the supplies and location of the area regardless, but starts to nose into the crumbled structures properly, nudging through rubble and disarray as he goes. The first building he explores is empty, as is the second.

He lifts his voice, calling out to his fellows:

"Find anything else?"

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take your last supply [closed]

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Sorry for delay guys!!

Sorry for the Even Worse Delay from me. D:

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