A whiskey bottle comforts me and tells me not to cry

[onesyllable]

WHO: Joshua Faraday
WHERE: Fountain. North Village. South Village Inn
WHEN: Middle of November
OPEN TO: Vasquez, All
WARNINGS: Will update if needed

---

Arrival

Last he'd known was a comfortable bed, a full belly, and a lot of nightmarish thoughts of how he and the others might die the next day. Somehow finding himself drowning rather than waking up to die is far more fear inducing.

Dragging himself out of the water and onto a bench, he lay down there in the sun for a bit, trying to dry off and buy himself time not to think about this. Whatever this is. Nothing looks right. His clothes aren't right. Hell, for all he knows this is Hell and he never made it out of Rose Creek except in a shallow hole. However it happened, he's not ready to think about it.

Also to not think about the pain he's got in his gut, his skin feeling tight and his head pounding. Drowning will do that to a man. So will being a mostly functioning alcoholic without a drink and with your body having a fit that you're running on empty.

So he lay there under the sun, not caring it is cold on his wet skin and clothes and pretends none of this is happening while he tries to clear his head.

The Inn

Finding Vasquez after Joshua gave up on ignoring how much like shit he feels hadn't done much to help in so many ways. He knows things got bad. Like he's been in a coma bad or the like. He's gotten some whiskey though, and he's been nursing the bottle for a few days to try and not get back to feeling like he did when he arrived.

Not that things are much better. Between Vasquez's attitude, the revelations that were made, and the weirdo who apparently wore a fur coat for everything - maybe even sleeping - and he just needs time to think.

So he makes the hike down to the Inn every few days, getting a meal and trying to make sense of his place and all that he seems to have lost. At least now he has a white linen shirt to wear and so he's only got on the yellow pants with the shoes they gave him. It all feels weird, but the food is familiar enough so least there's that.

He's curious about others though, settling down at tables where others are and giving them a minute or two before asking about where they came from, what they do here, or what happened to them before they got stuck here.

The House - Locked to Vasquez

It's been a few days and Joshua is still trying to work this out. He's not sure what to think about Vasquez and this Booboo fellow or whatever the hell his name is. He's not sure how to handle that Vasquez is being with others. It's all so different than what he's familiar with, especially since even having feelings like that he hasn't let them so because it's wrong and screwing that up could have caused a lot of shit in a war they had started.

Jack had been a bear in a human suit, but Joshua is pretty sure their roommate is definitely a wolf in sheep's clothing, so he's glad when he wakes up and he's apparently gone and out.

Sitting on the front porch in the chill air, sipping a bit off the little bit of whiskey he has left in the bottle and trying to not think while waiting for Vasquez to get up.

Comments

[onesyllable]

He stood there, holding the door for Vasquez, though he can't help but to laugh at that. "Is there an animal here that's not fucking strange? Because all of the ones I've seen are weird." Though he considers that.

"There's some purple sheep I've seen in the south. Weird looking, and someone called them allpacas but they could be useful. Some said they can be milked even. Might see where you can get some chicken and such. Animals we can use."

[quinientos]

"Some people have normal dogs, cats," Vasquez says, but for the most part, all the animals are very strange. He ducks forward to let himself through the door, but his eyes are always back on Faraday. He's always carefully watching, attentive, and at some point, he thinks Faraday is going to notice.

"What, you want to keep a herd of sheep? I'm not shearing them all alone," he warns, because if Faraday thinks that he's going to have that shoved on him, he is very mistaken.

[onesyllable]

"Some people. Most... there's things that look like they come out of storybooks," he points out, not knowing that soon enough they'll have one.

The air is crisp, clean, and it's something he appreciates, pausing to stretch and yawn, enjoying how it feels.

"What I want," he manages, not all of it before he's done yawning. "Is to know we can handle what we need up here by ourselves. If we've got sheep, then we've got milk and butter and cheese. We get chickens? More eggs. I like that idea."

[quinientos]

Vasquez settles his hat on his head, eyeing Faraday with some suspicion as they walk. "And am I going to be the only one who ends up taking care of these animals? Or is it me and Bobo with no help from you, because if that's the case, I'm not so sure that I'm going to help."

Fresh eggs and a sheep for milk and cheese and butter is incredibly tempting, though. If they have enough chickens, they can even slaughter one every once in a while for food.

[onesyllable]

He looks over at him, rolling his eyes as he just kind of stares at him a minute. "Where in any of this conversation did I say anything about you doing anything?" Because he's really not sure.

"What? You think I came out of my momma playing cards? I've worked on farms, and I've worked hard. Figured one day I'd end up with a place of my own somewhere when I got too old for cards and whiskey and all. I gotta live here, least I'm gonna do is homestead it the way I want."

Shaking his head as he walks, looking to Vasquez again. "And your friend would kill them wouldn't he? Seems like he's not much of a farmhand."

[quinientos]

"What, you think you're going to collect animals and not let me help? Cabron, this is literally what I did before I was an outlaw," he reminds him, pointedly, or did he think that being a vaquero was just a lie he took on for no reason at all.

Huffing in disbelief, he shakes his head and keeps following along. "You're not homesteading without me," he says defensively. "I want as much right to any food you'll get. Besides," he adds, "you don't have to worry about Bobo. I'll just ask him nicely not to touch them."

[onesyllable]

Joshua keeps looking at Vasquez and then away, utterly confused. "Wait. First you sound pissed like I'm going to make you do everything. Now I tell you I didn't mean you had to do anything, you're all angry about that too. What in the hell is wrong?"

Because he's really confused.

"All I know is I'm not sitting around here staring at the four walls like some prisoner. They want to trap me here, I'm doing what I know. Besides, what makes you think I would get food and not share it with you?"

He's an asshole but he's not that cruel.

"And thanks for answering that question," he says, making a face. "Everyone seems to settle down south though. Means there's a lot of empty buildings around here we can use for a barn."

[quinientos]

What's wrong with him? The dead man that he had a sort of crush on came back to life and turned up right in front of his face. Vasquez hasn't seen him in so long that he's stuck between teasing to keep him at arm's length, then pulling him back in so he doesn't go too far away.

"We could take anything we wanted," he agrees, though really, between the both of them, he doubts they'd be stopped by anyone if they tried to take over something. "What do you say? You, me, we find a barn, some animals, make it so we don't really need anyone else?"

[onesyllable]

Being told it's been a year is one thing but facing it as a reality is a lot harder than it seems. For him it's someone that he was on decent times with and now it's all tense, and he can justify why but can't work it out emotionally.

"No reason to leave it all in empty houses," he points out, shrugging. "We need animals that are useful. Chickens. Anything with milk. Meat animals."

[quinientos]

"Meat animals," he echoes, giving Faraday a look like he can't believe the words that just came out of his mouth. "And English is supposed to be my second language, what's your first, guerito?" he can't help the smarmy grin and the tease, probably he should know better, but he just missed teasing him so very much.

[onesyllable]

"Shut up," he says, rolling his eyes and starting to walk for the south village once more. "I would say cattle and pigs, but who the hell knows what they even have here. Purple sheep. Weird horse deer things with horns. Don't get me started on those useless weird dogs that girl tried to get me to take," he says, nose wrinkling and making a face. It was cute enough but what good would it do?

"Not pets or mounts. Something we can fatten up and get your boyfriend to slaughter for us." Because why do it when he can get the weird fellow to do it?

[quinientos]

Vasquez does shut up, but he's laughing fondly as he follows Faraday, because 'meal animals' is a good laugh that'll last him for a while. His smile is nothing but warmth, even though he rolls his eyes, picking up a rock to pelt at Faraday.

"Guerito, he's not my boyfriend, stop calling him that," he complains, because the only man he's ever though about having like that is currently acting like a jealous asshole.

[onesyllable]

"Whatever he is," he says, holding his hands up as if in surrender. "Call him whatever you want, but I'm not using that ridiculous name. Even I know it's a dumb name," he says as if that makes a difference.

He pauses, glancing slyly over at Vasquez. "That why you don't tell no one your name? It's something stupid?"

[quinientos]

Vasquez snorts and gives Faraday a long look, trying to figure out if he's being genuine in being so stupid about this. "I know one thing," he says, taking longer strides so he's at equal pace with Faraday so he can lean in with a smirk, "It's not stupider sounding than Joshua Faraday."

He claps his shoulder and lengthens his strides so he can take over, not intending to give up his name, not just yet.

[onesyllable]

"That name is classic," he snorts, giving Vasquez a look. Though it's obvious he's trying to keep a straight face. "But I get it. It's hard when your parents stick you with something bad. It's okay. Promise, I won't make fun of you when you tell me," he says, sounding comforting as if he isn't trying to needle him more.

He pauses, thinking about something else. "You ever try growing tobacco? Here or back home?"

[quinientos]

He shakes his head, because he never really had the patience or the time to do it. When he'd been working on the ranch, the owners would never want to give up the land for their vaqueros to grow it and here, there's never been a point when he gets it in handy little boxes.

"I promise, my name is beautiful," he says, to distract from the other question while he thinks. "Why? You have some plants we can start and a place to do it?"

[onesyllable]

"If we could get seeds somehow, least then we'd have tobacco as long as we can," he points out, his mind racing through the ideas of what they could do for a homestead and what they personally would need to get through it.

"How do people get seeds around here? Do you know?"

[quinientos]

"Mostly? They show up in a magic box," Vasquez admits bluntly, seeing as he's seen some native species, but none that are tobacco, which is unfair to people like him who have been smoking for most of his life. Sure, he sees why people might change their mind in the future about it, but that doesn't help him.

"Let's start with the animals. What do you want to rustle first?" he asks, hand going to his lasso. "We can drag it back, figure out a pen."

[onesyllable]

He's dead but not. Magic boxes. He wants to call bullshit so bad but he doesn't. If they're going to make this work, they've got to work together, but those weird things can wait.

Talking about animals, that at least makes sense.

"I'm thinking those sheep maybe. You know if anyone's tried to eat them? Mutton ain't so bad."

[quinientos]

"I think they keep them alive for their wool so people can make clothes," Vasquez says, with a faint hint of warning that Faraday better not try and kill one of them to eat for a meal when they could stay warm for a season. "There's fish in the river, and enough wild venison to keep us with protein."

"And eggs," he adds. "Besides, if we can find enough liquor, who cares?" He should be joking, but he's not. Plenty of meals can be pushed aside for a good drink.

[onesyllable]

"Well course you want them for that, but when they get older..." Then you get mutton. He knows that much. "And you ever spun wool? I knew a girl at one of the saloons used to do this thing at the bar when things were slow with a one of those spinning things."

Yep, technical terms here.

"So chicken definitely. I've fished before," he's says, nodding. "And how are people taking down those deer?" He misses having a gun. Or even a bow and arrow.

Laughing though, shifting to nudge him with his shoulder. "Wanda, this girl I talked with, she says someone named Sam makes some, keeps it in the kitchen sometimes. Moonshine. It was ... It was rough," he says, shaking his head, though he's grinning. "Might be able to snag some of it, bleed it off and store it at the house."

They live far enough out from others it should work well for them to store it at home and no one find it.

[quinientos]

"No, spinning isn't for me, but I think other people here said they would," Vasquez admits, which means they'll need something to barter with, but he's sure that he could figure something out. "Some people made arrows and bows. Like Red," he supplies, thinking that if Red Harvest were here, he could take down three in one go.

"Or like Billy, knives," he adds. It's only that he and Faraday (and Goodnight, too), relied on guns, though at least Vasquez had one more avenue. He pats the lasso at his side. "I could bring them down."

[onesyllable]

"We get enough of a farm going, would give us ways of trading for them to do it," he says, thinking back to his childhood. "And need a means to shear them. Going to go through the supplies in the inn while we're down there as well. See what all they have we can borrow."

And by borrow he means bring north and maybe forget to return.

"Well that's one of us. I'm used to having a shot." He paused, considering. "Wondering if I could use a sling to take down something."

[quinientos]

That gets an amused snort out of Vasquez, because he can just see that happening and the animal not doing anything more than taking a bit of a sting to its body. "I'd like to see you try," is his reply, amused and willing to actually want to see if in practice.

"I think it's better for me to lasso it, then you to use a knife. You didn't listen to Billy?" he teases. "He wanted very much to teach everyone how to properly use a knife."

[onesyllable]

"Course I listened to Billy, and I know how to use a knife." He rolls his eyes, making a face at Vasquez. "I think I'd rather try a bow. Though we both know I'll work with a knife more," he says, shaking his head. "This place is literally out to set me up," he says, believing that. Well only kind of.

"Okay so you've been here longer. What should I be looking at livestock wise?"