starhuevalley | .1 caliber [Intro]

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.1 caliber [Intro]

[ACTION]

[She steps down from the bus and tugs at the strap around her shoulder tighter - she travels light, but there's something rather long, carefully wrapped, strapped between her bag and back. Squinting lightly at the warm summer sun, she sighs. Mixed feelings, all in one breath. This lady travels light except for the baggage in her mind.

Still, as she treads through the beaten paths towards an x in a map (excellent orientation skills, for one), she looks around carefully with what seems like a half smile in her piercing gaze. Yet, when she finds the place in the map, she keeps walking around, checking the Community center, the city, - greeting a couple of kids playing outside with a smile - walking through the beach... ending up finally at the Saloon around the evening, asking for a cup of tea at the counter.

Where do you meet her? ]

[VIDEO]

[That's exactly where she is when the video feed opens up. She's looking down at the screen, kohl rimmed eyes scrutinizing the device with a somewhat disappointed expression to them. She tsks.]

So unintuitive. How old is this?

[Dexterous fingers reach the screen and blip! goes the feed

Ring ring?]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

More than likely. Might be time to sit up in to the night and see if whatever did it comes by again. [See what sort of 'monsters' they're dealing with.

Also see what else may need to be done to make sure the area was safe. The usual.]

[She nods.] Sounds like a plan. May be a good idea to check vantage points beforehand, then, to get a clean line.

[Although... ] What do we do once we find the "culprit", then?

Only good option is the barn. [It provided cover and a place to keep hidden.

Weren't doing much else with it. Yet.

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders, arms folded loosely across his chest.] That's the question. Figure out what we're dealing with and go from there?

I can climb up to the roof, if needed.

[A nod. It's wise to not make any assumptions. She wonders if it's a common occurrence, but supposes that it's something she will end up figuring out as time passes.]

Maybe people will need help with this, too. [It's concerning. If monsters or animals get near people's lands so often, some people with less means to defend themselves could be in trouble.]

[She could, humming in acknowledgement. Any plans would be finalized when they were all together, but it was definitely something.

Then came that scowl again.] When asking about the monsters, once they came up, Jack and I were told they stay away from the town. Haven't heard about any attacks on farms either.

Unless when we were asking around no one considered monster attacks as something people need to be told. [Which was absolute bullshit and also dangerous.]

[Tucking her hair behind her ear, she's thoughtful.] That sounds a little naive. Especially if there's not much information about them. Is there?

[Then, a thought. Bringing up the key from her pocket and the map to her house - a little x by a river - following the path they took from the saloon to their place with her eyes.] Do you think the houses are given randomly?

I think this is something we're going to have to dig in to ourselves. [There hadn't been anything about 'monsters' in the whole welcome spiel as far as Gabriel could tell.

He paused for a moment, brow furrowed.] Probably? I haven't even gone to look at the one I was given since Jack picked me up.

[They've no idea it's honestly the farm next door. Gabriel's farm was literally next door; next door as it got, at least. In the woods.]

[A look at the key - normal, as nondescript as it could ever be. And another at the location of the x and the spot where they both were. A relative distance, but not too much, now that she looks at it with a scale in her memory. Maybe a good scope away. But other than that, nothing that would be relevant.

The hand that tucked her hair comes to rest at the side of her neck. Too many question marks. Very little answers. No wonder Jack and Gabriel were concerned.] There’s a library here. Maybe there’s records, too.

[A sigh, and she ventures a soft smile at him.] Not curious about it? [It’s not like she can blame him.]

[Just make it all the more suspicious if their given areas were all grouped together, honestly. As if it were planned, and just stack all that much more heavily on some conspiracy going on.

Something to think on, too.]

Be a good idea, yeah. Dig in and learn as much as we can, since some people just won't say what they don't think of as important. [Just human nature, honestly.

Gabriel leaned off the counter just long enough to.. dig a key and a map out of his own back pocket. Why hold on to them? Because it's him.] A bit, but I don't know what I do with it. Considering things I'd rather stick close to Jack and Jesse.

It’s why most people don’t get into our line of work, right? [Only natural, yes, and only a couple of people end up having a first instinct regarding security either because they were grown or thrown into situations that demand it.

She leans in just a bit, takes a closer look at his key. It’s... honestly just another key. At least at first glance.] I don’t blame you. I haven’t felt the need to check out mine, either.

Though maybe I should, for the time being. [A snort at a mental image she just came up with.] I don’t want to sleep in the hay.

Yeah, can't really blame them. [It also made their line of work harder at time and a good reason why he had Blackwatch; Jack definitely had a better way with people. Wasn't for like of trying, Gabriel just took some getting used to, and sometimes he simply looked like he wanted to murder someone if they tried talking about things they didn't understand like they knew more than the people's whose job was to know.

Just a normal key.] All of this still feels unreal, in a way.

Knowing Jack he'd want you staying here with us, but there is a space issue while he's still remodeling. [There was a chuckle just under his breath.] Jesse's already acting like he wants to sleep out there and would likely give up his bed for you.

[McCree honestly was a good kid.]

Be lying if I said I wouldn't want you close, though.

Me neither. [While peace, safety, it all seems a nice thought and all, she knows that there will be a handful of people who find their purpose in protecting those that try to achieve it.

It’s kind of an ungrateful job, she knows. And she knows that both Gabriel and Jack know it

She reaches to rub distractedly at the top of her cheek, where her tattoo is..] It does. I thought I had one of those nights, where you don’t remember anything. But no hangover, so it can’t be. [There’s some humor in this overly simplistic way of explaining, but the point remains: it’s disorienting.]

Oh? Do you think he’d stay with that friend of his? [She chuckles fondly. He really is, but he really shouldn’t bother with that.

A minute of thought. She doesn’t really want to be far from them, either. Especially at this time, where everything seems so foreign in its bucolic state.] Well, these places already come half refurbished, right? I can still go there and bring the mattress. I can fit in a corner somewhere.

[Just the way it was.

It was easy enough to ease back against the counter, arms folded after that key was slipped back in to a pocket. Lips pressed briefly in a thin line.] I don't remember getting on the bus, or even seeing any bus until after getting off the damned thing. [Did not help the suspicion about what was going on here either.

Something had to be up.] Need to figure out if there are people who did come here willingly, along with how many didn't.

For all I know? He might. [They'd work something out later, once they were all in one place, or so Gabriel thought.

A slow nod.] They do, and it probably wouldn't hurt at all since it's better than the couch, floor, or out in the barn. [Why did he have a feeling things would not go so easily in sleeping arrangements...]

[At that, Ana shifts a little, head tilting only slightly mischievously.] Maybe that had been for the best. Wouldn’t you try to commandeer the bus if you found yourself in it? Then I’d have to deal with Jack on my own.

[And hop, push herself up to sit on the counter she goes. She nods.] I heard about this not being a singular occurrence for people, too. This not being their first time being taken somewhere.

[She shrugs, how hard can it be?] It will be fine. Like the slumber party we always wanted.

[The corner of his mouth twitched, some chuckle just barely cut off as Gabriel shrugged a shoulder.] That's true. Commandeered it and gotten right back to wherever the hell they picked me up from.

[He'd been walking through a Blackwatch hall last he knew, on his way to some meeting and then. Well. Here.]

Yeah, which is on it's own just as concerning as this.

[Gabriel snorted.] No that's definitely a more entertaining way to think about this.

[Ana chuckles. The image of Gabriel resting the tip of a shotgun against the driver - and she can’t, for the life of her, remember the driver’s face, and that’s a striking enough thought for her to steer away from going deeper into it - literally turning the bus around, was as accurate as it was amusing.] Yes, but then I would have to deal with Jack and Jesse.

[Not that she wouldn’t be able to handle it. Most of that was just banter, but the truth was that it was always more balanced when it was the three of them.

[A nod.] I guess we can ask them first, see if both experiences are similar, in some way.

Isn’t it? [She’s holding to that idea and running with it.] It will be alright. At least I didn’t see any mentions of the UN in that tablet they gave us. No rules regarding sleepovers for a while.

Be a shame to leave you to such a fate. [He would have actually done it, or at least gotten answers as to what the hell had even happened but.. well. Hard to tell if whoever was driving the bus had any answers either.

At least it was easy enough to talk as if nothing were too out of place. Some comfort in that.

Nodding once.] Yeah, I don't think we really got in to that.

No one to judge, and if anyone does that's their own problem.

Not enough lemonade in the world to help me deal with that.

[She aims a sharp, serious look at him, even though it's short-lived. Her mouth twists into a grin right after.

With her legs dangling off from the edge of the counter, she's starting to feel her feet go numb. Not unusual - sitting still for long periods of time was something Ana was used to. She folds a leg to rest her ankle on her knee and pinches through the soft leather of her boot where ankle meets leg.] I think we have a lot to work on. It's a good thing we don't like to sit still, hm?

[So much for the peace and quiet this place advertises. Then again, it's always been how they worked - finding things to look at when most people don't bother to look twice.]

I think that's actually what I'll appreciate the most. The bureaucracy was killing me. [And Jack. And Gabriel. Mostly them both. But she doesn't want to tell Gabriel that just yet.]

At least you have me around if you ever need it spiked with something. [All in jest, but hey.

Still, Ana pretty much held his attention and it wasn't hard to relax in to something almost normal around her. The grays in her hair or not, Ana was someone he trusted and knew would be there when needed. For both him and Jack, she was a dear friend and, well.

Had saved their collective asses multiple times by now. It was nice to have that here, too.] A very good thing, but hopefully there's enough to keep from getting to bored.

Don't think I've ever thought of working a farm.

[If it turned out to be harmless? Fine, all the better despite how unsettling the way of arrival was. But it never hurt to just... make sure.]

I will not miss it a damn bit while here.

I'll hold you to that.

[That she fell into such casual motions so quickly didn't go unnoticed by her - she's grateful that Gabriel came over to meet her, that Jack did the same in a strange timewarp that RP allows, and that Jesse also let her know that he was around. Tt brought her a sense of safety, of course, but also an anchor of reality and home. Even if a little something in the back of her mind kept asking if this really was Gabriel and not some sort of convoluted plot to have her killed.

She really should stop paying much mind to rumors.

So she moves her ankle, focuses on riding the uncomfortable tingling sensation of having bloodflow improve on the sole of her foot instead, and drops the leg to sit properly again. Lean back a little on a wrist.

Ana can't help but grin a little at Gabriel's comment. Ah yes, city boy, after all. Not that she had been much different before she moved again and again, first with her family, then deployed on her own, but she didn't come from a mega-metropolis like he did. ]

Hm, I think I can picture it. [Planning things in detail, taking care of unpredictable things like pests and the weather. The idea of Gabriel's initial reaction to facing a sudden dose of crude country life is still hilarious, but the work fits him to a T.

A sigh, and this time, of relief.] Like Jesse says: "You can say that again".

I'm sure this place has something to do it with, too.

[Timey-wimey things of how RP is just how it be sometimes.

It was hard to ignore the.. differences, the changes and way spoken to, how some things were spoken about, when catching a familiar face. With Jesse and Jack things had been.. well. Hardly any different than ever, all on the same page more or less.

Angela was older, not some fresh faced young woman studying to be a doctor, something in how she spoke— Ana was older too, a part of his always suspicious and paranoid, but this was Ana. Wanted to trust as he always knew he could, and all of this was strange.

Easier to keep leaning back against the counter and talk, corner of his mouth twitching and for once trying to silence the urge to be suspicious.]

I'm sure. [Amusement in his tone. Really, he knew the basics of survival in quite a few conditions, but farming was.. not that. Could probably use what he did know to help, all of them had that basic survival training after all. Right?

Just had to take some advice from farm boy himself.] Let's just hope it doesn't somehow follow us here, too.

I didn't recognize anything in the shelves of the Saloon. [Which is something considering Overwatch's tendency to pull people from different countries. She tilts her head.] But it was stacked.

[That's a dig. In her memory, the last time - a rare moment - someone decided to bring out a watchpoint's hidden alcohol stash, Gabriel and Jack drank a whole taskforce under the table. They'd probably need the whole Saloon to get even closer to a light buzz.

Her eyes squint just a little to join him at his mirth, feet swinging slowly.] I do mean it. You and Jack are not the type to do things halfway.

[That alone goes a long way - especially when it comes to anything heavy on logistics. That, Ana knows. Aside from that, she thinks that it's only a matter of time until they start doing something like raising chickens.

With Jesse calling them 'ladies', or even 'dames'--

Record screech. She gives him a look, leans forward to go and knock on the wood of a drawer by her leg...

... but stops, the smile starting to come back.] You know what, that could be a good thing. Whoever brought us here would be so filled with paperwork, it would be the perfect diversion.

[Gabriel gave a low whistle at that.] Well, never hurts to try something new, does it?

[There was that flash of a grin, even if it had been a long.. long time since he or Jack had gotten up to something like that. Here?.. well, maybe at some point they'd both need to loosen the hell up before they did something far more drastic than a conspiracy wall in the basement.

Besides going around town questioning people and diving in to the mines and all.

His head tipped, because he couldn't disagree, corner of his mouth twitching.] Guess neither of us know how to do it any other way.

[Chickens. Bees. Corn. Fruit trees. The possibilities of things to come are...

Things.

Gabriel snorted, a hand going over his mouth because—] The cruelest of diversions.

Usually, it doesn't. [A nod, followed by a nudge of her elbow at his arm.] But coming from the guy who never gets hungover, I'm not so sure.

[Not that she sees the three of them lowering their guard just enough to willingly seek some loss of their own bearings any time soon. It's been a long time for her as well; first, too many things to do, then taking care of a child, then a teenager...

While a little bit of oblivion sounded perfect, just what she needed at times, Ana wouldn't be able to handle the voice in the back of her head holding herself accountable if she tried.

Still, it had been pleasant, that time. She remembers her cheeks hurting from laughing non-stop.]

I don't think that's a bad thing. [Even if the both of them would start stressing if outside factors wouldn't allow them to go through whatever they did to the end. But that's usually what she's there for.

She shows the palms of her hands up; not a shrug, but a 'see?'.] Even the mighty corn demons would lose to that.

Hey, I can get hungover. [A brief shrug at the nudge.] It just takes a hell of a lot to do it, and it doesn't last overly long.

[Just like the buzz or pleasant oblivion that could come before it. Occasionally it could yes but that was a price all it's own.

Recently? Recently too much work and planning and everything else that came with running a black ops group alongside a much more public group and everything else made that a rather poor idea. A thought entertained here or there but nothing more.

Still, good times. Good, good times.

Then he hopped his ass up on to the counter rather than just leaning against it. There was room for one more after all.]

Gets shit done, or over done. [Or the two of them nearly drive themselves insane trying to do it but yeah. She was good at reigning them in. It was.. Good, in it's own way when they couldn't get themselves.]

We may have discovered the corn demons' arch-nemesis. Red Tape.

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