sixthiterationlogs | long road home [backdated to March 6]

WHO: (Who is making the post)
WHERE: (Where the post takes place)
WHEN: March 6 - March 17
OPEN TO: all + message/spam for Bev
WARNINGS: nada

[network, open text]

[She'd message Bruce privately the day before to tell him about this very thing plus show him what she and Loki had brought back from their little surprise vacation, but it's taken a day before she'd felt up to anything else, and she's still not exactly feeling up to much.]

For those of you who didn't already know, Betty Ross is gone.

[network, voice, private to Beverly]

I think I might have done some damage while we were out in the woods. Mind stopping by to take a look? I don't want to tell Bruce until I know what's wrong, he'll make a bigger deal out of it than I want.

[video, open:]

[The map is a real find. She'd spent half the day before borrowing some of Bruce's precious paper to make her own copy before taking it out to the South Village Inn, but she's finally here, and the map is spread over one of the tables in the front room, one edge weighted down with the case and the other corners with empty glasses. The video opens on the carefully framed map itself, and Nat's voice narrates as she points out key locations.]

Think we're finally getting a birds-eye view of this place. We're here, and here's the ruins with the fever snakes; here's the shrine, and the southern beach I got to tour the last time this place decided to send me on an adventure. Loki and I were up here--there's ruins of an old settlement housed inside a bunch of scuttled ships on the rocks here, where we found this map.

But I think you'll all notice the biggest thing here: there's a second island to the northeast, here. [She taps the map, then turns the camera to face herself. She looks tired, but there's a glow to her green eyes that speaks to an inner purpose.]

Maybe we've been looking for our hosts in the wrong places. I'm leaving the map here in the South Village Inn front room, with the records. I've made a rough copy, but someone with a better hand should probably make a second.

[Spam, open:]

Nat remains in the front room of the Inn the rest of the day with the map, refining her smaller version and making some rough dimensional calculations. She's borrowed a spool of thread from the storeroom and roughly divided the map into a grid, trying to get a feel for the size of the space, and is available if anyone wants to come talk business.

Over the course of the next week and change, you can find her in the bunker, working away at the functioning consoles, trying to find answers with renewed purpose, or taking long soaks in the hot springs, where she'll be amenable to company of most kinds. Some nights might find her sitting out on the porch of #40 wrapped in a blanket, a tawny peacat draped over her lap and rumbling loud enough to be heard on the road. She won't be working out in the dojo for the next short while, doctor's orders, but she does stop by every few days to see if Nida needs a hand with anything, or if any of the regulars are there to chat.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Natasha returns that offered nod, the look she gives North brief as she returns to her quick once-over of the main training room. No sign of Nida, and no sign of any wear bad enough to be immediately replaced, fortunately, so it's only a few moments before she comes back out of the room, pausing at the doorway for a moment to take a breath. She'd forgotten what cracked ribs felt like, and honestly considering their lack of medical facilities and the likelihood they could be catapulted into some new life-threatening situation at any moment, she definitely doesn't feel the need to push her recovery.

But she's not leaving just yet. Instead, she comes back over into the room North's currently occupying. She's seen him around a few times--he's moved in to the space above the dojo, she's fairly certain, and it does no harm to stay friendly. This time, she offers a smile, small but friendly enough.

"I just came by to check and see if the place needed any work. Anything you need over on this side?"

Oh. North smiles and looks up when Natasha comes over to consider him. Interesting. He wasn't expecting someone clearly here for combat to focus on him, but he's always happy to get some help.

"Well, I've got a few things going," he says as he gestures her over toward the dining room, which was being used for storage and meditation. "I'm supposed to be doing some inventory here on what medical supplies I have on hand. I need to come up with what additional things I need to request from the doctor. Beverly has offered some things, but I need to make sure I know what I want first. And if you know anything about marijuana I need to check the bundle I have drying down in the root cellar. Brought some from the green house to use for pain issues. Or meditation. In my time it's a pretty accepted practice to use for calming."

So he's got a few tasks, but he doesn't know if any of them would actually interest her.

"Plants aren't really my thing in general, so I'm not sure how much help I'd be with that part, but I could help you out with your inventory," she offers. The idea of medical marijuana use doesn't bother her at all. Honestly, it's not uncommon in her time, either, even if she dislikes taking anything that might slow her reaction times when she's injured. She'll have a drink or two on a job, or to unwind, but being hurt always winds her up tighter than anything else.

"I've got another follow-up with Doctor Crusher in a couple days, so I'd be happy to help you out and deliver a list of anything you might need, too. Is it just supplies in case anyone has a training injury, or are you hoping to set this place up as a triage center?" It's not a terrible idea. There's the room for it, and it's an easily defendable house.

"Training injuries. Not sure about whether triage is a good idea here or not. But I mean, a secondary location if something happened might not be the worst idea," North says as he thinks about it.

In fact, he's looking around now and he's thinking. About a lot of things. About the potential of this place. Natasha's put a bug in his ear now. Fun.

"I've never set a triage center up before."

"You might want to talk to Bruce about that, too. Doctor Banner," she clarifies, looking around the room with him. Honestly, it's got potential. "He spent a few years traveling around the world giving out medical care in third-world countries, places where supplies or even clean water were hard to come by. He might be a good pair of eyes to help you get started." And she does know Bruce loves his projects. This is one she thinks he'd feel especially good about, all things considered.

"Met him once, nice guy," North smiles. "I'll have Theta remind me to reach out to him. Work with him and Beverly on that. Of course have to learn more about medical tech in this time. Could probably do with a project that's more mine than someone else's."

It's all so complicated, isn't it? He spends time running around to help others, to entertain Theta. But this? This is something he could do because it helps. Him and them.

"He is," she agrees, and if there's a hint of softness to her expression for just a moment, well, it's only in passing. "And I'm sure he'll be happy to help you get started. He's good support personnel. Although the tech here is a little outdated, even for us. About a hundred years prior to my time." So, you know, pretty outdated, but nothing compared to Doctor Crusher's five hundred or so.

His talk of projects pulls a small smile from her, and she doesn't disagree. "It's good to have a project to keep you busy. I mean, you can't swing a stick without hitting at least five people looking for bodies for their own plans, but some of them are more useful than others. I think this would be a good one to have."

"Six hundred years outdated for mine," North agrees as he starts sorting through the mental list he's already compiling. But he laughs at the swinging a stick comment. True here, isn't it? How many of them has North gotten himself involved in? Too many perhaps.

"Trust me, I know. I mean, Theta wants to help with preparing a theater group, I got pulled into this without intending it, and... Well, the list goes on. Never learned how to be anything but a soldier back home, so I guess I'm trying things out to figure out what might work for me."

long road home [backdated to March 6]

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