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[passedover]

[It’s morning. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there are two new arrivals around town who seem convinced that something very suspicious is going on here. Dressed in what can only be described as tactical gear, they’re clearly some kind of military, and appear to be acting accordingly. In a situation like this, the best course of action is obviously to fall back on instinct in an attempt to get to the bottom of whatever this is supposed to be. For these two, that means proceeding with caution.

Clearly there’s nothing questionable about two men carrying big guns through farms and fields, speaking to each other quietly as if to keep from being overheard. Keeping together, never straying far from the other, or lingering too long in a single area. Not at all questionable, or scary, or yeah no what are these two idiots doing.

They’re doing recon, of course! And they’re fairly thorough about it, methodically searching, poking around, overturning anything that looks questionable and possibly pointing guns at it. Was that thing yours? Sorry, it’s being inspected now. Do you live in this house? No problem, they’re just going to check around back. See or experience anything strange during your stay? No? Are you sure?

Or maybe you just come across them while going about your business. They’re obviously friendly with each other, even if they’re regarding everything else with some degree of wariness. It seems like a great idea to approach, if only to ask what the heck they think they’re doing.]

(ooc: It’s a two for one deal with Jack strikecommand and Gabriel passedover. We’ll both be replying to all threads unless otherwise requested.)

Comments

[littlehero]

[Boy did you boys pick the wrong rock to overturn. Probably literally; there's a huuuge rock pile that might as well be a small mountain jutting out of otherwise flat (but poorly maintained) farmland. Suspicious? Absolutely. It's especially weird when the earth starts to rumble around it as it rises, chunks of boulder floating up to resemble arms and a head for a vaguely humanoid shape.

The thing issues a low growl like the grind of a slow-moving rockslide and glowers down at the intruders. Is it less menacing or more so with that cute chalk smile drawn on? Well, either way, things are looking grim for our ... heroes ... ?

Who knows if anyone can even hear nearby farmhouse's front door slam open, but there is the alarmed cry of someone very small.]

Golem, wait!! Who is it? Don't hurt them!

[But Golem doesn't back down. He doesn't proceed to smash anybody either, so that's good, at least. His voice is the kind of low bass that's felt more than it's heard.]

SEERE, NO COME . . . WEAPONS.

[At least this is only a rock giant instead of an iron one. You got lucky this time, punks.

Anyway, should Jack and Gabriel look to the farmhouse they might notice some pale blond kid who can't possibly be older than a first grader. Might notice. He's barely tall enough to properly peer over the banister of the front porch. So he's going to do the smart thing and ignore his pet rock's warning and hop down the stairs, but at least he keeps his distance.]

Hello? Are you alright?

[passedover]

[The moment the rock pile started moving Gabriel had moved an arm out in front of Jack to haul the both of them backwards. Putting a good several feet between them and the... moving rock hill? Whatever. Distance was what was needed and it wasn't as if he'd never hauled his fellow soldier back before.

Or the other way around.



It also talked. Great.

Other voice wasn't missed, but Gabriel was only tilting his head enough to catch where it might have come from out of the corner of an eye—]

Been better.

[A kid?]

Friend of yours?

[Guard not dropping. Yet.

Focus more on the other man at his side and of course the rock-thing there in front of them.]

[alloutoflove]

[ It's not actually that unusual for Chisa to see patrols like this, though certainly this quiet sleepy little farm town isn't somewhere where she'd expect it. Especially given her own connections to local law enforcement. (Hm. On that note, their camaraderie is also a thing she is familiar with, even if it's a bit more effusive than Japanese stoicism usually allows for.) And it's been a few years since she was in any sort of place to need to worry about it.

Well, whatever. She had been sweeping her porch, but when one of them turns to her, she cocks her head and affects the most innocent wide-eyed expression of innocence she can manage. Whether the effect is helped or hindered by her fluffy red-striped tail (red panda! it's cute! okay!!) and the little fuzzy ears half-hidden by the ribbon in her hair is up to them to decide. She keeps her voice high and bright; the "ready to please" service housekeeper voice. ]

Hi~ii! Can I help you?

[passedover]

[... Uh huh.

Didn't matter which of them she'd caught the attention of first, probably. Gabriel had kept his shotguns aimed down at the ground and both safety's on. Only kept them in hand just to be at the ready in case they were needed. Wasn't about to do away with them now.

Didn't look like he was going to shoot, just scowling. Which was normal.]

Friend and I have a few questions, if you've got the time.

[Nudging Jack. Slightly. He was better at it.]

[coldandyearning]

[Ahhh, what a wonderful way to start a morning! A beautiful clear day with not even one cloud in the sky, sun shining through the window, the light breeze rustling the trees every other moment or so, two men cautiously wandering through the fields-

WAIT, WHAT.

In almost an instant, Weiss busts the door open and marches right up to them, still in her pajamas and...heels...along with her rapier in hand, just in case.]

Excuse me, don't you know it's rude to trespass on people's properties?!

[passedover]

Only way you can find the people who own them.

[That was a 'yes', but it wasn't stopping them apparently. Head tipped to one side, gaze shifting to the young woman before going right back to Jack. Brow arching a bit.]

Take it this is yours. Bad time to ask a few questions?

[Marching out in pajamas and all.]

[deadouttalock]

[So Jack and McCree have already run into each other, maybe they did a little recon and scouting around of their own before McCree talked Jack into checking out the plot of farmland assigned to him. The hesitation was understandable, who wanted to formally accept something that didn't really feel like your own when you knew you had a home somewhere else already? Somewhere... across time and space and useless bus schedules, apparently.

Jack's farmhouse and barn were in pretty decent shape, certainly livable, but the lands themselves were a mess. Patches of grass and weeds were overgrown in thick patches, some waist-high. Fallen trees and brush cluttered up the entire area. Tree roots gnarled up old cobble-stone walking paths, what little bits were able to be identified as such. Wood fences stood, amazingly, but were overgrown with vines and what appeared to be the only salvageable current food growing wild on the property--corn. Lots of corn.

Work needed to be done, and neither Jack or McCree were to eager to start. Jack proposed some more scouting, told him he'd be back in a while. That was fine, McCree just wanted to sit and have a smoke for a while. A while turned into boredom, boredom turned into a restlessness he didn't know what to do with.

Whenever Jack and Gabe come back they'll find McCree, surprisingly, casually clearing out the barn and its upper loft.]

[passedover]

[At some point during all of the two person recon Jack was of course going to come back to the plot of land.

Just likely wasn't expected that right there with him would be Gabriel. Maybe they didn't find what had been gone back out to piece together, but it wasn't exactly coming back empty-handed. Familiar face could do a whole lot of good when it came to messes like this.

Probably.

Which would be why Reyes stopped by the open barn door—]

You actually get McCree to work, or is he doing this on his own.

[Juuust loud enough to be heard from the upper loft.]

[biotictouch]

[ It's entertaining to watch them for a short moment, but Moira puts her best face forward. That's not Reaper, that's Reyes. That's not a dead Morrison. That's a very live one.

It's comical though, watching them creep around this otherwise, harmless farm town.

In true, true Overwatch voice line fashion.... ]

Are you finished?

[passedover]

I don't know.

[Probably not, but it wasn't as if they should do this all day. Even if they could.]

Are we, Morrison?

[A little dryly spoken, but that was.. practically normal for his tone most of the time, honestly. Matched the resting scowl as it always tended to do.]

[shotinhead]

[ The Courier has a clean farm - nothing growing yet. Nothing they've grown. While they've made adjustments so that a Securitron can get around, it's just... barren.

But when you approach their house? The Courier approaches from behind, from the ramp which is the stairs. Any expression is hidden by the fact they're still roaming around in full Brotherhood of Steel power armour. Holding a bag full of seeds and rocks, they can't help but stand at attention. ]

. . . For raiders, you're well dressed.

[ Courier, please. ]

[passedover]

Raiders?

[Could not miss that approach from behind, Gabriel still very much sticking close to the man he had been with all day. Giving the armor a look over, head tilted to give Jack something of a sidelong look.

Raiders.]

action

[illuminaria]

[ There are...some strange men snooping around outside of her farm, and that's a little unsettling. One in some darker clothing, the other not so much. One looked like prince charming, the other...okay, he did too. Sort of. They were pretty conventionally handsome, at least by her storybook standards. So, why...not approach them? Sneaking out of her farm and into her budding wildflower bushes, she approaches her rickety, deteriorating fence. ]

Can I, uh. Can I help you?

[passedover]

Hopefully.

[It was easier to hook the shotguns to the back of his belt for the moment, easy to grab back up just in case, elbow brushing slightly against Jack's arm.

A wordless way of telling him just what Gabriel was doing. Trust to watch his back if it turned out to be a mistake as well.]

Friend and I here just want to ask a few questions. If you've the time.

[ringrust]

[Yeeeah, it was only a matter of time before someone ended up calling the sheriff's office. Probably multiple someones. Even with the influx of weird out-of-towners coming by these days, armed strangers poking around private property is just a little creepy.

So one of the sheriff's faithful dogs has come out to deal with it, thankful for an excuse to do something that isn't babysitting that painful narcissist moping around the jail cell. Maybe a little less thrilled about the prospect of probable military personnel coming in. The last thing Mallory wants is to see warfare again, even one with a 'purpose' beyond Despair. That's why his perpetual scowl is cranked up to 11 when he finally comes across the culprits on the outskirts of town. He puts his hand on his hip and calls out from a comfortable distance.]

You two looking for something?

[Definitely less of a "do you need help" and more of a "do you need a kick in the ass" to his tone there.]

[strikecommand]

[It's likely never occurred to Jack and Gabriel that a sleepy little farm town like this would even have substantial law enforcement. Perhaps the two of them are so used to being the law enforcement that they're largely unconcerned with whatever the Valley decides to throw at them.

Jack, for his part, is largely unconcerned about being approached. It's nothing that the two of them can't handle, and it's not like they're looking for an excuse to get violent.

Still, he hears the displeasure in Mallory's tone, and responds accordingly.]

You could say that.

[Though it's hard to be more specific, when he isn't sure what exactly they're looking for.]

How long have you been here, if you don't mind me asking?

[crosseyed]

[[ well, hello, strangers! nia was just going about her normal business aka attempting to cook in her kitchen. but the movement she spots outside her window catches her attention, and she quickly stretches up to open the window before calling out: ]]

Greetings, sirs! [[ she isn't really... tall enough to completely lean out the window, but her candy-colored hair can surely be spotted by anyone with working eyeballs. she also waves for good measure. ]] May I ask what you are doing?

[passedover]

Hey.

[Well then.

His head had turned with a slight nudge of Jack the moment he'd heard a voice, much as he knew Jack had heard her as well. It was a habit.]

Taking a look around the area, along with asking questions of those staying here. You mind if we ask you a few questions?

[dangercapricorn]

[ Two guys with big guns skulking around? Yeah, that's not going to stand. Sure, John doesn't have jurisdiction here or whatever but when has that ever stopped him.

He has a hand on his sidearm and his badge at the ready (for whatever good it'll do, which he imagines is not at all). ]

Evening, fellas. Nice night for some trespassing.

[passedover]

[There was that word again.]

Nice night for trying to find people to ask a few questions.

[Dryly, and that resting scowl wasn't about to change. This... this was partly why Gabriel always let Jack deal with people.

His own people he didn't have a damn bit of trouble with.]

Wouldn't you say?

[doritogremlin]

[Hana is... watching them. Specifically Jack. She's not old enough to remember what Reaper actually looks like. But she knows Jack, he's just... So young! So... So handsome! She's practically staring as she watches from the porch of one of the houses they're creeping around.]

[She was excited to see Jack, of course, but the ... the young-ness of him has her a little shocked, give her a few minutes to lose the shyness.]

Uhm... Oh, uhm!

[What does she say...?]

[passedover]

[Gabriel and Jack still remain rather close to each other, a few nudges or slight brushes of shoulders or arms to catch the other's attention wordlessly. Even while still talking between themselves, going over what was already found and still pushing on.

Didn't take much notice until she spoke up, Gabriel turning his head before brushing a hand against the back of Jack's shoulder to catch his attention.

A brief Look fixed on him before his attention shifted.]

Hey. You live here?

[Before going any further, Gabriel already sure Jack would step in from there.]

[autolatrist]

[At some point a little later on, be it the end of the day or another day entirely, there's some marshmallow-looking guy wearing a leather jacket even under the hot summer sun lurking around the Overwatch Dudebro Farm. He's got an almost comically large rifle slung over his shoulder but god knows where he got his hands on that thing. Every now and then he takes it off and aims at nothing in particular, humming the theme music of a popular action movie to himself. He probably isn't even actually carrying it right...

Well, if he isn't dangerous with a weapon, he can still blind someone with today's skimpy glittery blue booty shorts and equally garish cowboy boots. What an eyesore. Someone put him back in jail.]

[passedover]

[Likely not carrying it right at all.

Gabriel, of course, had been watching for a little while, gone out on the porch and leaned on the railing without a word and simply watching. Corner of his mouth twitching, chin propped against a palm and all. Just for a few minutes of course.

Then he was simply headed back, catching Jack by the collar, and pulling him out with a gesture towards the sight. Not a single word uttered. Not alarmed just. Making sure he wasn't seeing things.]

This is something. Shhh.

[passedover]

[At the end of it, this had all been on hell of a day. It was one thing to suddenly find himself on a bus heading towards some place he'd never heard of and just left there. A few 'saving graces' that there'd been a damned welcome familiar face that had come across him as Gabriel had started to try and gather his bearings.

Spending an entire day on recon had at least been doing something, find out McCree was here as well had been another thing. Now there was settling in? No, just... winding down at the house Jack had been given when he arrived here. Likely meant Gabriel had one as well, but he wasn't about to 'settle' there. There was at least some familiarity here—]

Hey, Jack?

[Gabriel would get up and look if the man didn't answer him.]

[strikecommand]

[Jack had originally avoided finding his plot of land, because that would make it real, and he wasn't entirely sure he was ready for that. Now that he's bitten the bullet, however, he's in full "accomplish something" mode, making the entire place livable for the three entire people they're definitely going to have living here. He's not so far removed from farm life that he doesn't know how this goes, and they've made some good progress on their first day.

Still, there's more to be done, and Jack is about to embark on some evening remodeling when Gabriel speaks up.]

I'm in here.

['Here' is the living room, where he's got some tarps laid out, taking stock of some of the tools he found in the barn.]