forum I summon thee @Young-Dusty

Started May 08, 2019 by @amber_is_in_a_loop

tune

Slash's expression darkened. "Well you're all grown up now," he said, still very quiet. "You're stronger than him. We all are. He won't ever hurt you again, I promise." He scooted a bit closer, nudging her gently with his shoulder. He wasn't that experienced with giving support, but he wanted to show he was there for her. "Okay?"

Her shoulders slumped at the physical contact and she had to refrain from leaning her head in his shoulder. Instead, she looked up at him, wide-eyed, and nodded slowly. “Okay. Thank you.”

Slash looked both equally proud of himself and embarrassed by Jessie's words. He glanced away, mumbling something gruffly. Luckily for him, Rick returned at that point with wild greens and water from the creek. He nodded at them both cheerfully.
"How's the cooking goin'?" he asked, keeping quiet to avoid waking Charlotte.
(I have to work this afternoon but I'm around for a couple more hours until then)

“Oh!” she gasped softly, her head swivelling in search of the meat and spices. She rubbed the latter onto the meat as the fire cracked steadily in front of her. “It’s going good!”

Rick inhaled the smell of cooking food with relish. "Great. A good meal before a job is very important. Here, I brought some salad to add to th' mix." He couldn't help noticing how close Jessie and Slash were sitting. "You two havin' a nice talk?"

(So… hey. I’m really sorry, once again, I don’t really have an excuse)
Jessie opened and closed her mouth, the gears turning in her mind. “Nice wasn’t the word but yes indeedy,” she settled on, her voice light.

(It's fine fam, I understand. You have a life outside the rp, and frankly I think you should always prioritize that when you need to ^^ I'm glad to see you again tho XD)
Slash straightened. "We were just talking about…..y'know…..the plan."
"Welp, that's a good thing to talk about." Rick sat down across the fire from them and glanced over at Charlotte, making sure she was still asleep. "Still, we don't want to spend too much of our energy frettin' over it. Let's eat supper and hit the hay, alright? I'll take first watch."

Jessie nodded her assent. “The meat’s been cooking for about ten minutes now,” she noted. “How long does it take to cook?”

Charlotte, tucked away into shadow at the foot of a tree, slept soundly, occasionally moving about slightly in her agitated dreams.

Rick shrugged. "I usually just guess based on the smell and the amount of sizzle. Even if it's still a little rare in th' middle, we can always just cut off the outside and cook the rest overnight in a stew."
"Or I can eat the raw parts," Slash volunteered.
"That works too. Besides, I don't know about y'all, but I'm starved."

Jessie listened carefully, nodding along. "Okay." She inhaled deeply, looking for any type of smell that could indicate it was cooked, but the spices stayed dominant. She inched closer to the fire, poking at the branches sticking out of the bottom, enjoying the natural heat of the flames. She began thinking, about where she'd been, where she was, who was around her. She barely recognised her own life anymore, or herself for that matter. She'd stayed with the caravan people for so long, unable to fight, and it had shaken her up. She wasn't use to being weak. She'd hated it. All she wanted was to be like Rick or Charlotte, as strong and secure and clever as they were. There never got scared, they never failed. It must be so amazing to be grown, she thought, and able to fight against everyone.
"How are you doing, Rick?" she asked after a while.

"Hm, me? I'm doin' fine. A little nervous, I guess, but that's only natural." Rick smiled. "Back when I used to do jobs like this with my brothers, we used to always stay up talkin' the night before, when we were supposed to be asleep. We were too wired to do anything but bet on who was gonna drop their gun 'n look like an idiot the next day."

And then Jessie was thinking of her own siblings that she'd once had, the three children she'd grown up with, now either dead or tortured. It was impossible to connect such awful, awful images to the memories she had of them. Will, Tess, Leo and Jessie. It'd always been the four of them. She was all that was left now.
She gave a small smile and looked up at him. "Brothers?"

"Yep," Rick replied, not realizing the impact of his words. "I've got four of 'em. Or well, I did last I knew. They're mercenaries, so I can't never be too sure how they're doin'." His expression saddened slightly, but he tried to brush it off. "Anyhow….that ain't what I meant to say. Supper?"

Jessie nodded. "I understand." She really did. She focused her gaze and sniffed at it. "It smells quite good… It might be ready," she noted. "Should we take it off the fire?" she asked, looking over at him.

(ahaha yep)
"Might as well." Rick rubbed his hands together and pulled some metal plates from his backpack. "And let's remember to save some for Miss Charlotte too. She'll appreciate a square meal tomorrow, I reckon."

“Yes I reckon too.” Jessie edged out of the way si Rick could deal with the dinner. Even just a few inches further away from the fire, the night chill got to her; she wrapped her arms around herself.

Rick divided up the meat and passed it around. Slash took his portion, which was indeed the still-cold chunk in the middle, and was about to change forms so he could swallow it in one gulp when he noticed that Jessie looked cold. "You want my jacket?" he offered quietly. "I don't need it right now."

Taking her plate from Rick, Jessie looked up in surprise. She eyed Slash's jacket and nodded reluctantly.
She inched closer to the Deorn boy, simply to be within reach, and took it from him with a silent grateful smile.

Slash looked quite proud of himself when she accepted the jacket and chomped down on his meal with gusto. Rick noticed their interaction and smiled, thinking it was cute. "This is delicious, Jessie, nice cookin'. Seems to me you have a good instinct for spices 'n seasonings. Wouldn't you say so, Slash?"
Slash barely slowed down. "Mm-hmm. 'S good."

Jessie gave Rick a sincere smile, huddling beneath Slash’s jacket as she enjoyed the warm meal.
The gentle conversation woke Charlotte from her sleep. She rolled onto her side, facing her friends and the fire. They were chatting, and Jessie was wearing Slash’s jacket. She smiled softly and propped herself up onto her elbows.
« Dinner? » she called to them.

Rick brightened when he saw she was awake. "Sure thing. I hope you're hungry." He portioned her out a plateful of food. "Feel a little better now?"

She smiled at him sweetly, blinking the sleep away. « Yes, definitely. »
She stood up to walk over to the huddled group of friends, taking her plate from Rick. « Did I miss anything interesting? » she asked mildly, taking a seat between Jessie and Slash.

Rick shrugged as he ate. "Nothin' much. At least, I didn't do anything excitin'. What about you two?"
Slash looked up. "Um…no, nothing happened. We just talked for a while."
"We were thinking," Rick added, "That we'd all go to bed after we're done with supper. We should probably set someone on watch though. Any volunteers to go first? I can do it if y'all are real tired."