(no subject)

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Today, Rebecca told herself, she was going to go to the Wasteland for a drink come evening. (Early evening. Dusk's dangerous; nighttime's more so.) This is maybe one part PR, one part socializing impulse, and one part a fervent desire to get the hell out of these same few buildings, even just to an only marginally less familiar building.

One of the downsides of the Shelter is that it involves lots of people living in relatively close quarters. And when couples decide to break up messily, and share their drama with everyone else, and flounce off or weep and wail in corners instead of doing their fair share of chores -- well, it's been a long few days.

So it's definitely time for a drink, because otherwise Rebecca's going to start snapping at folks more than even they deserve, and Jessie and Neal deserve a whole lot of snapping right now.

And then, of course, it started to rain.

Hell with that, she decides; she's going anyway.

Little rain never killed anyone. Zombies (etc, etc) are good at putting that kind of thing into perspective.

Comments

[sky-from-sea.livejournal.com]

"Apparently it's been that kind of day all around," says Anna, smiling a close-lipped smile.

Her hair is also really damp.

As is her shirt. And the hem of her skirt.

Someone has forgotten her umbrella--presuming she has one.

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Rebecca has a jacket.

It's not really a rain jacket, so it only kept off the rain for about half the trip before the water started soaking through. But what can you do.

"I swear," Rebecca mutters, peeling it off and looking around for a hook or something, "one more--"

"Y'know? No." This is said decisively. "I am not thinking a damn thing about that mess tonight. I am gettin' a beer."

Or something. Depends on what's around.

"How're you holdin' up?" This is a good general question, these days. These years. Whatever."

[sky-from-sea.livejournal.com]

"I'm all right. Managed to prevent too much wasted time down at what is--not actually a courthouse."

She still looks a little pissed about that.

"Got my errands run, too. So I guess aside from the rain I'm doing okay. Anything not related to business you'd like to talk about? I'm a mean hand at discussing literature."

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Rebecca makes a slight Oh, Lord, what NOW face at the first sentence, but she is Not Going To Ask.

She gets headaches enough just from her own time there.

So instead she grins a little, crooked and amused. "Yeah? Whatcha got?"

No more public library, more's the pity.

Well, the building's still there. More or less. But.

[sky-from-sea.livejournal.com]

"Romance novels, some poetry, I think there's a Bible somewhere--and a smattering of English and American literature. Mostly after 1895."

Off the top of her head.

Anna likes books.

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Rebecca's nod is approving.

"Sounds about like mine. Maybe a bit bigger." Wry, "Not so choosy, these days."

"All the same, you can find some decent things with a bit of luck."

[sky-from-sea.livejournal.com]

"So you can. I keep an eye out. The exchanges get things in, sometimes, too, though I've had more luck with scrounging on my own."

She smiles slightly.

"Though I do have a question--have you been down by what's not really a courthouse lately?"

[undermyheel.livejournal.com]

"You look wet," Claire observes.

"Very wet."

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

"...That's 'cause it's raining."

Full marks for observation, Claire.

(Rebecca is well aware that Claire is neither dumb nor non-observant.)

[undermyheel.livejournal.com]

"You should buy an umbrella," Claire says. She gestures to hers. "I'm thinking of selling them."

Vaguely. The way she's thinking of selling cars.

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Claire thinks of selling everything.

Rebecca makes a noncommittal noise.

[undermyheel.livejournal.com]

"And how are things at the Shelter?" Claire asks with false solicitude.

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Claire is decidedly not on the list of people Rebecca would gripe to about the Shelter's interpersonal tempests in teapots.

"Just fine, thanks."

This is polite. Just this side of repressive -- but not quite there.

Conversing with Claire is one of the risks of coming here, of course, but it's not exactly the kind of socializing Rebecca had in mind for the night.

[undermyheel.livejournal.com]

"Of course," Claire agrees. "Always good to check and see how the neighbors are doing, if they need help with those nice fences."

She understands feeling reticent. After all, she doesn't air her dirty laundry in public either. It's bad business when a leader can't keep it together.

"It's good to see you here."

[bass-line-blues.livejournal.com]

"Rebecca?"

Preston blinks for a second, and then grins, bright and genuine.

"You hanging out here now?"

People coming together! Socializing in groups that they weren't in before! This is always a good thing towards civilization-building, Preston thinks.

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Preston gets a real smile.

"Once in a while, sure."

"Hey there, boy. How you been?"

[bass-line-blues.livejournal.com]

"Not bad at all," Preston says, and then glances around.

"Kind of glad to be back in civilization, though."

Or the beginnings of civilization, at least.

"Didn't give away my room, did you?"

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

"Oh, we thought about it," she informs him airily.

(No they didn't. Might've been some eyerolling over the wasted space, though.)

"And speakin' of. Where the hell've you been?"

[bass-line-blues.livejournal.com]

"Out."

Preston waves a hand vaguely in the air, and adds, after a second, "Of Chicago. At an old campsite for some of the time, actually, not that there's much left of it."

His grin is only a little rueful. "It's the backpacking trip I always said I'd take when I got out of school."

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

"...You picked a great time for it." Dry.

She doesn't mean recent events, so much as that whole zombie apocalypse thing.

Though it sure would've been nice to have him around the not-exactly-a-courthouse now and then.

[bass-line-blues.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I've been hearing," says Preston, taking this a little more literally, and glances around.

"Though at least the fact that people are complaining means people care, right? Better than apathy," (says the budding lobbyist.)

[k-gabriel.livejournal.com]

Karla might be glad enough to be hanging out in the Wasteland instead of the shelter tonight, but she can plead necessity; she's tuning up her guitar, recently arrived herself.

Rebecca gets a friendly nod from where Karla's standing, over by the stage.

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

Karla gets a friendly nod back.

Music's nice; so is a familiar and reasonably well-liked face. (Karla's a good kid. Pitches in, doesn't make a nuisance of herself.) So Karla also gets Rebecca meandering her way, once she's hung up her wet jacket to reveal an only slightly less wet shirt underneath. Damn rainstorms.

Rebecca will be happy enough to just sit and listen and not have to mediate anything, though.

[k-gabriel.livejournal.com]

"We take requests," Karla says (the 'we' is still habit). "Otherwise you're probably gonna get something folky, since my acoustic interpretations of heavy metal are still a work in progress."

[time-for-this.livejournal.com]

"Folky," says Rebecca, amused and quoting the wording back, "is just fine."

"So's anything you feel like playing" --this punctuated by dropping into a seat with a decisive air-- "that ain't full of screaming. I've had enough of that today on my own time, and you got too pretty a voice for it."