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Rick nodded. "Acourse we'll have to make it through this patch before we can think of much else. I'm not pressin' y'all to do anything in particular, but I sure would like to stay in touch with you after all this." He offered Charlotte a smile. "Consider it an open offer, anyhow."
(brb, back in about 20 min)
She smiled down at the pile of wood, ducking her head to hide it. Slowly, the pile caught a steady flame and a low heat started up. Jessie huddled close while Charlotte dug for anything fresh she had while they waited for Slash.
« It must be fun to live in the fields… » Jessie thought aloud.
(See you!)
"I've always thought so," Rick agreed. "Hard work, maybe, but simple and peaceful. I'd love to have horse pasture, if I could, and maybe a herd of mules or cattle. And crops, although I don't know the first thing about crop farmin'."
She shrugged, forcing herself to be casual. "I've picked up a few tricks. Could probably show them to you both. What would we grow?:
Rick pondered the question. "I guess it depends on what kind of land we would have. I've always thought corn might be a good crop, or beans of some kind. Or hey, maybe wheat, 'n then we could make our own bread. Ever grown any of those things, Charlotte?"
(I had a dream last night that Rick was the big brother I always wanted and it was the best dream ever XDD)
(Oh lord that sounds so amazing!!!!)
She shook her head, holding back a smile. « I’ve grown cotton and potatoes, but unfortunately that’s it. We could learn though. »
She found herself wishing for these plans to one day come true.
Rick nodded happily. "Sure we could. And while we're learning, the horses or mules could be our livelihood since I know my way around 'em."
"What about horses and mules?" That was Slash, who'd just walked into the circle of firelight with a deer slung over his shoulder. "What are you guys talking about?"
(hey, I got thinking about this again and was wondering how you're doing lately. Hope everything's going well for you?)
“Far-flung projects,” Charlotte chuckled, sitting back down by the fire with a handful of fresh vegetables. “Well, judging by the look of this meal, I’d say we could pull off farming and cooking with time and work.”
(hey, I got thinking about this again and was wondering how you're doing lately. Hope everything's going well for you?)
(I am so, so sorry I was away for so long. It’s been really up and down and I had zero motivation, but I’m trying to keep writing and I’m back for a long while now. Again, I’m so sorry for dropping this.
How are you? I hope your Christmas was nice, if you celebrate)
(It's okay, I understand, I've also been really busy and kinda stressed lately TvT I hope you're feeling okay, zero motivation is no fun. hugs But it's good to see you again! I had a great Christmas, very homey and cozy. Hope yours was nice too ^^)
"I agree," Rick said, making room for Slash in the circle of light. "Nice catch, son. How're we gonna split that up?"
"You guys can have most of it," Slash said with a shrug, dropping the deer nearby. "So you guys are….gonna build a farm then? I'm still confused."
(I hope you’re feeling calmer now…)
(It was really nice, yeah, I got to spend time with my cousins down in the countryside. Happy new year by the way! ❤️)
"I agree," Rick said, making room for Slash in the circle of light. "Nice catch, son. How're we gonna split that up?"
"You guys can have most of it," Slash said with a shrug, dropping the deer nearby. "So you guys are….gonna build a farm then? I'm still confused."
Jessie nodded. “Yes we are! And we’re going to grow every flower and vegetable, and then we’re going to plant fruit trees everywhere and cook our own meals and move in together! And be a family!” She’d sidled up to Rick while she talking, and grabbed onto his arm with excitement.
“Or so goes the dream,” Charlotte interjected. “If we all make it back out, we owe it to ourselves to do something nice.”
(Oh yeah no worries, I'm feeling pretty good right now ^^ Happy new year! Spending time with cousins is always fun XD)
Rick stared at Jessie in surprise–for some reason he hadn't expected her to trust him so quickly. But she and Charlotte both seemed genuinely excited about staying a group for longer than a few days. The thought made Rick wonder, for the first time in years, if maybe there was something better than going back to his old home in store for him. He beamed, not moving an inch in case Jessie decided to let go of him again.
Slash took one look at Rick's cautiously delighted expression and grumbled darkly to himself. "Sounds boring. When we're done with this job, I'm gonna go find my own territory by myself, just like I always planned."
Rick glanced over, still caught up in his emotional high. "Well if you want, you could settle down next door to us! Plenty of folks would drive you away, but I'd vouch for you anytime. It would be a shame to part ways forever, now that we're friends."
Slash looked somewhat embarrassed, but shrugged rather than refuse Rick's offer. "….Maybe."
Charlotte bit back a laugh at Slash’s evident awkwardness, before looking over at Rick and Jessie. A warm feeling slowly spread through her body, familiar from years and years ago, to when she was only a girl. This was home.
Shocked by the realisation, she jumped to her feet and sat down next to Slash’s deer.
“Okay, time to prepare this creature.”
(sorry for the wait, had to work all day yesterday)
Rick nodded and went to help, still trying not to grin like an idiot. "Thanks for the venison, Slash. You didn't happen to see any signs of human life out there, did you?"
Slash shrugged. "There's an old fence a few hills from here. I smelled humans a couple of times, but they're not close to us. I think this stream goes into a river after a while–that might be where they are."
(That’s alright, how are the animals?)
“We’ll be steering clearer from them I think, since we’re heading downwind towards Axel’s place. One less crowd to worry about, thank god,” she sighed, handing Rick a knife and pointing to where the skin would come off easiest.
(wuff XD Doing good but all very rowdy and messy lol)
Rick deftly unseamed the deer's pelt with one long stroke, pulling it back to get at the meat underneath. "Sounds fine to me. Hopefully we don't make so much of a ruckus tomorrow that whoever's by the river comes to check it out. Do y'all prefer your meat dishes with some organs included or without?"
“Nothing goes to waste in my book.”
Jessie nodded her assent, and with a few deep slices Charlotte had the deers hooves drying out by the fire.
(I just had a flashback of a Wikihow article I read one time, we forgot to drain the blood from the carcass lol. Oh well, we can pretend we did everything perfectly XD)
Rick bobbed his head, carefully filling a kettle with water and adding the desirable organs to keep them clean. "We'd better salt and dry most of this, There's no way we're eatin' it all tonight. Here, Slash, you can have the ribs and shanks if you want 'em."
Slash pounced on the cuts of meat without hesitation. "Why would you add salt to meat?" he asked between mouthfuls. "That's gross."
(Good to know for the next time I'll have to skin a deer!)
"Us humans don't have the same refined taste, apparently. We like to cook and season our meat instead of devouring it as is," Charlotte explained in a lightly mocking tone, reaching over to pull the sack of salt from her bag.
(lol yeah same)
"Pff. Weird." Slash snorted derisively, cracking open a rib to get at the marrow inside. "Salt is okay I guess, but I don't like it that much."
Rick put the kettle full of meat onto the fire and started cutting the rest into strips so they would dry quicker, handing them to Charlotte for salting. "I know some traders that make their whole livin' off the salt trade. It's a big thing, and salt has plenty of uses. My advice, Miss Jessie, is that you always carry salt when you're travelin' because you just never know when it might come in handy. Why, one time I managed to escape a group of Florida cannibals with nothing but a little salt."
( XD )
Jessie looked over at Rick perfectly calmly. "Cannibals? Do tell."
Charlotte smiled to herself, rubbing and coating each slice of meat with a generous layer of salt.
"Well, now," Rick said, taking out a packet of spices and sprinkling a tiny amount into the cooking stew, "I was just leavin' home on my own for the first time, on an errand trip to the Mississippi. I was only a little older than you, Jessie. Not a real major trip, I thought at the time. I just had to go through the bayous and get to the trading village on the other side, at the bank of the river. And acourse on the way there, I had no trouble, because I only had my horse and my gun and I moved pretty quick. But on the way back I was loaded down by food 'n supplies, so I looked much more tempting, y'see. Anyhow, there's a clan like mine that lives in the bayou down there, called the Pikes. They're mostly a bunch of voodoo witches and half-Deorns, and they know the swamp like the backs of their hands. I got jumped by 'em and they took all my stuff, and me too. Now at this point I didn't know they were cannibals. And I couldn't understand their lingo for beans. But when I saw the way those folks were starin' at me, I sorta started to get the idea." He grinned ruefully. "Now here's where the salt comes in. I had just bought some, but only a tiny little bottle because it was expensive back then. I had it hidden in my pocket. So what I did was, just as they were about to eat me 'n my horse, I took out the salt and I said, 'hold up! You can't eat us until we're good 'n seasoned or you'll get malaria!' And when they left us alone to give us some privacy while we…I dunno….salted ourselves, I hopped on my horse and got the heck outta there. Somehow, I doubt the same trick would work twice, but I'm sure glad I had some salt that day."
(I feel like you're a great storyteller irl)
Jessie's mouth opened and closed as the tried to formulate an answer, until finally she let out a shrill cackle. "Cannibals are idiots," she gasped through her laughter.
"Wouldn't call them that to their face unless you want to end up like this deer here," Charlotte suggested mildly, stretching out the last bit of meat to set it to dry out.
(aww ty XD)
Rick chuckled. "They weren't the brightest bunch, naw. Although I never did get the nerve to go shoppin' alone after that." He sat back, staring into the fire as he waited for the meat to cook. "The Pikes did have some pretty impressive skills, though. Their witch-doctors knew how to cure just about every sickness, and how to use any plant in the swamp for food or medicine. They say some could even talk to spirits. Another time, my little brother Finn got a real bad fever, and our pa took him to the Pikes to get cured. He was fine in just a week or two. Pa gave those doctors a whole herd of pigs and some nice guns for that. So, they weren't all bad."
(I gtg for a bit)
(Sure)
"Everyone's redeemable," Jessie said whimsically. Charlotte sighed and, having set up some spiced cuts to cook, she leaned back on her hands and looked up at the stars. "You know, I've had time to learn every variation of the sky there is."
"Yeah?" Rick admired the stars as well, smiling. "I know what you mean. That's what I like about the middle of the country. All that open space really shows off the sky and what's in it."