Soap and hot water isn't enough to wash away the sin

[tinstar]

Who: Raylan and possibly you?
What: Lil tiny post event log for recovery and secret feelings
Where: Around Milton + Hot Springs
When: Early October

Hot Springs

The stink of death and murder was a hard one to wash off when you only had a pot and a rag and whore's baths weren't cutting it anymore. Raylan was able to stand it all of a day and a half before he and Goose are trudging slowly and painstakingly up towards the hot springs with a filled pack on his back. The plan? Build a fire, lay out clean(er) clothes, and scrub as much of the blood and dirt and Everything off him as the soap and hopefully hot water could get. He had to be careful around his freshly stitched wounds but they weren't deep enough to cause too much concern and he was sure there was some hippy-dippy reason that mountain hot water was good for that, actually. His shoulders and hands would be glad for a soak and he didn't anticipate having any issues around other people seeing him naked. Ladies maybe, but he hoped he was lucky.

Goose wasn't there to bathe, just to keep him company while he tries step one in the handbook for 'How to Feel Human again'.

General - Around Milton

Despite the ache of Raylan's movement, gait slower than normal with a little hitch in his left side, he didn't have enough whiskey to stay home and brood. So he went to work, carrying a beaten, wooden toolbox around, loaded with as many tools as he thought would be useful, and knocked on house doors where it looked both like someone might live and also like it had gotten the shit kicked out of it. Houses that were too far gone were looked over, picked through and it didn't feel much different than the corpse robbing he'd done himself not so long ago. Reasonable people will argue that it's better that goods went with the living, was useful. That didn't make him feel any better about it.

That should keep him busy and not thinking for a few days, or exhaust him to the point of not thinking anymore which was nearly as good.

He's fine, this is fine.

Comments

Hot Springs!

[salamanca]

Lalo doesn't sleep much. He never has. He likes to be awake, so he can think.

But the nightmares are new. The guilt is new. The flash of everyone he's ever hurt or killed -- not just the Forest Talkers, but the people before he came here -- won't leave him alone.

He's never experienced that before. He doesn't know what to do about it.

He likes having Ulfrún with him, though. Her antics are charming. She kept alerting him the whole way to the hot springs. Now, she's playing, only to alert him to the arrival of a person. She goes after to Goose happily, ready to play. But if Goose is here, then...

Lalo looks up from where he sits, lounging naked in the hot springs. And his stomach twists. He had thought nothing about concealing the truth of his identity from Givens before. What Givens didn't know couldn't hurt him, right?

But Given is a US Marshal. How long can Lalo conceal the truth from him?

Lalo is still happy to see his... friend (?) What are they now?... and his face breaks into a winning smile at the sight of Givens. "Heyyyy," he says. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

His ears have gone a faint pink. Goddamn it. That's new too, but at least Lalo has started to become resigned to it.

[tinstar]

It was a surprise to see someone up here, not that it should have been and even more of one for it to be Lalo. Raylan pauses in what serves as the doorway, stomach flipping in his gut. They were adults, right? It didn't matter that they hadn't seen much of each other since their threesome with Chloe - probably better that way, to let calmer and less excited heads prevail - they were..

Well, he wasn't sure but there was only one option in front of him. Leaving once you're spotted is a sign of weakness, and we can't have any of that here. Besides, Lalo had that look again, how could he not. Raylan continues in and Lalo's sunshine continues to be infectious, making the Marshal break into a crooked smile as he unshoulders his pack. He can't help but to wince as he does it, but there was going to be a lot of that happening.

"To the fact that you're sittin' in some soup that's aimin' to be shared." He didn't bother to ask if it was okay. This bath was happening. Goose was more than happy to bounce around with Ulfrún, both pups unbothered by their two legged companions.

"Hope you're not bothered by stitches."

[salamanca]

Lalo always thought it was just a figure of speech for someone to say their heart was melting, but when he sees Raylan's crooked smile, something inside his chest feels both warm and like it really has melted into goo.

What is this place doing to him?

The wince doesn't escape his notice, either. From what happened with the talkers? Or something else? Lalo's injuries are more visible than damaging -- he has a black eye that's just beginning to heal, a split lip, but nothing more serious than that.

Lalo moves closer once Raylan sinks into the water, the warm water swishing with the motion of his body. He's grinning like an idiot, but there's a faint sheepishness, a blush, to the way he smiles. He doesn't want to show weakness either. He still remembers how thoroughly the marshal had taken control of him before, how gently Raylan had guided him through what could have been an overwhelming experience for a man who was so rarely overwhelmed by anything. But that only makes it more important to show Raylan he can stand his ground, too.

He can hear the dogs yipping happily, but he doesn't seem to be paying too much attention to them. "Mind?" he teases. "Why would I mind? You're the one who has to wear 'em." He's still grinning, but he's showing concern, too. "You mind if I take a look?" Lalo is no doctor, but Methuselah did teach him some first aid. Might as well put it to good use.

It might distract him from his own increasingly frantic, overwhelming thoughts. The pretense of looking at Raylan's wound might be a way to delay the conversation they're going to have to have soon, too. The urge to do good for someone -- especially a goddamn US Marshal, out of all people -- is new and unfamiliar, and Lalo isn't practiced at it, but it's so loud right now he can't drown it out.

[tinstar]

Lalo's unasked questions would be partially answered as Raylan strips, the jeans and boots piling up with his several shirts, ending with a henley that once removed, displayed the stitched cut across his left bicep and along his left side. Ugly wounds, stitches and all, but not deadly, just inconvenient. There's an involuntary groan of relief at the warm water and pain at the movement that got him in but he sighs a deep breath once he's settled.

But now that he didn't have one foot to put in front of the other, his thoughts take back over the running stream of consciousness. The intimacies were compounded by the ugly facts of their September. Lalo had watched Raylan put two people down, one with no real provocation at all, poor Rita Yee. It was a part of Raylan that he didn't like people he was intimate with to see. He liked keeping people on clear sides of that line. And Lalo still wanted to scoot closer and see. Raylan could feel the pretense, however logically solid that it was, not reassured by the interest but certainly not going to argue against the raw comfort of having Lalo sat beside him or talking with him, no matter the internal battles. It was better than the alternative.

He drapes his left arm up onto the rim of rocks as it's own silent invitation of space to be invaded.

"Just no pokin', huh? Far as I can tell, the cuts are clean and Zane did a good job of gettin' 'em back together. Hellva lot better than I coulda done myself." No shame in admitting that and lying wouldn't get him much - the wounds were obvious when he was naked. He keeps that easy, charming smile, dark eyes looking over Lalo's black eye and split lip. He looked better than he should have with them.

"You give as good as you got with that split lip?" He didn't know if Lalo could fight but the memory of the man stepping in the middle of some shit on Milton's streets with a confident authority that suggested he could.

Around Milton

[desperate_times_right]

Chloe is inspecting her roof for damage from cinders of the burned-out house across the street (poor Louis, at least he made it) when she spots Raylan in the street.

She pulls off one of her heavy gloves to give a loud whistle, then swings over the edge of the roof like it's nothing and drops to her feet. She’d picked up a few bruises in the fighting, but March of all people had kept the worst of the heat off her so she's in pretty good shape.

“Hey,” she says, waving. “Made it through okay?”

[tinstar]

He looks up at the whistle and smiles crookedly, direction already bending towards Chloe's house and glad to see her so spry and unafflicted. He knew his stiffness in movement was going to be noticeable, the hitch in his step subtle but there, no matter how smoothly he tried to cover it up.

"Yeah, fine enough," he lies without any hint or hesitation. "Lost my makeshift bat but I'm still hopin' I get lucky enough to find somethin' for a suitable replacement." He lifts his chin at the roof.

"You're obviously fine, Lara Croft. Goddamn. How's the house lookin'?" He didn't feel any kind of awkward with Chloe for what they'd done - he knew the score, he expected nothing, though she would enjoy the perks of having an invested Givens nearby and he'd be a little more familiar. Something he put to immediate use as he doesn't hesitate to meet her halfway and stand within arms reach.

[desperate_times_right]

He’s clearly in some amount of pain, but he's walking. From the stories Chloe’s been hearing that's nothing to sneeze at right now.

“Not bad up there,” she says, jerking a thumb toward the house behind her. “Must have been a good wind direction. Believe it or not, I missed the whole thing. I was down at the greenhouse when the shit really hit the fan.”

[tinstar]

"I tried to come by that way but I ended up goin' after someone instead. The head guy." Plans never survived first contact, that never changed. At least he got something for his efforts, even if it was hoodoo-voodoo bullshit.

"It survive? Your greenhouse?" Farming was important, cultivating food sources that might get them through a thin winter - he was all about protecting the greenhouse and any efforts towards it.

[desperate_times_right]

“Yeah. One of the panels got smashed, and one of the new girls puked all over my fucking carrots, but almost everything’s salvageable.” Chloe stretches a little, sighing. “I think they were hoping for a treat once they'd wiped us out. Can't imagine they were getting much fresh food at the lodge.”

[tinstar]

"I'll come over in a few days, help get that repaired or boarded over." It wasn't quite an offer, just a statement of fact that came without hesitation.

"Sounds like we'll have to make sure they've got full bellies. All of 'em. Caught a girl breakin' into my house, while I was inside, probably lookin' for the same thing a couple of weeks ago. From what I hear, the younger kids that got talked down got eyes on 'em so we'll see if they cause any more trouble after bein' brought into the fold."

He was going to stay away from them - likely as not, he was the furious boogeyman of someone's dream after that bloodbath, and he didn't want to face that.

Around Milton

[meadqueen]

The one positive thing about the past couple of weeks is that Randvi’s house had not been too badly damaged. The worst of it has occurred prior to the full attack: the boarded-up window that had been smashed in the lead-up to that fateful day, the fire that she had started in her own bedroom out of fear.

She is cleaning up debris from in front of the house when she hears the crunch of boots on gravel and looks up.

“Oh, Raylan. Hello.”

[tinstar]

"Randvi," he greets with a lift of his chin, eyes already squinty and analyzing as he takes in the damage around her chosen home.

"Thought I'd come to see how you fared the onslaught. Glad to see you up and movin' around - How are you doin'? How bad is the damage?" Nothing was left truly untouched here - it didn't much matter how the damage happened, all that did matter was that he knew it did. That he might be able to help at least clean up and fix and rebuild because fuck the Forest Talkers. They weren't going to be beat down.

[meadqueen]

“We did have some damage - the broken glass window - but aside from that it was mostly cosmetic. No fire, thank the gods, save one caused by my power that was quickly extinguished.”

She had been fortunate that Kostya had been there, or who knows what might have happened?

“I'm sure an injured woman and her companion seemed a soft target, but there were three wolves here and a wolf person besides, so the survivors moved on quickly enough. Ulfrùn was with Lalo, so I knew that she was protected.”

She sighs.

“I have been speaking to the survivors. The young Forest Talkers. It seems that the shaking of the earth opened a new route from Lakeside.”

[tinstar]

"I had him take Goose too - good of him to take 'em in." More than good that he had their trust enough to give him their animals, not to mention the people he'd been entrusted with.

"Let me help with the window? Winter's comin' and I don't trust that fog to stay away." Base line securities had to be put back in place in order to put them anywhere back up onto a level playing field against their environment.

The young forest talkers were something Raylan hadn't put any thought into. It was hard and ugly and.. Well. There were women here, better inclined to child-rearing. He wasn't sure how good he really was with kids. It wasn't his place, being a grown man the age that he is, he was well aware.

"That so? Well, good. That mine is dangerous, as is that damned bridge. Might be able to build somethin' if we get Lakeside and Milton connected... How are they doin', the kids? Someone lookin' after them?"

[meadqueen]

“I'm heartened to know that she had a companion.” Randvi knows that Lalo adores Ulfrùn but it had been a bit sad to imagine her alone in a cellar.

“Bigby helped me to install a board over the window, but I would not mind a second opinion.” She’s not sure how sturdy things would have to be to satisfy Bigby on his own house. “And if you know anything about the way these modern homes can be damaged by fire, I would ask you to look at the burned wall inside as well.” It hadn't seemed overly severe but the building materials here can be strange.

As for the young Forest Talkers: “They’re doing as well as they can be, under the circumstances. Their people have been destroyed and they think we block the rebirth of their world. One complained to me that bodies had been burned after they had requested burial, but I have not been able to verify it. I have been accompanying them on their rituals.”

hot springs

[sukeltaja]

There's a familiar sight as he enters the hot springs, a certain cowboy with lanky, gentle features that he'd seen coiled tightly with furious duty only a bit ago. Raylan is well enough to be out and about--good, it means Zane hadn't killed him via infection--and he gives the other a happily little wave as he moves into the cave entrance properly.

"Hiya, handsome." His smile is genuine, if a little too wide, as he promptly begins to undo his puffy jacket. Raylan's even started a fire. Fantastic. He'll just invite himself in.

"How's your chest? Hot springs should really help with that." There it is: confirmation that the hippy-dippy answer Raylan assumed.

[tinstar]

It was going to take some getting used to, Zane's half teasing flirting, but out of everything here, it was definitely one of the more pleasant things. Raylan didn't mind the company though and didn't hide the way his gaze lingers as Zane gets undresses. It's only fair - Tom's seen him half naked already and will get to see more if Raylan decides to stand up at any point.

"Hurts like a son of a bitch, but I've had worse. Mostly here to soak and wash the blood and dirt off before anything gets infected." That would be the real death of him here.

"I'm hopin the salt content dries shit out afterwards or somethin'. My muscles ain't complainin', anyway. Thank you again, for sewin' me shut. I owe you one."

[sukeltaja]

"I'll cash that favour soon," Zane promises, shooting the other a wink. He has absolutely no shame in terms of nudity, not in the sense that a lot of Americans have--even before the Dark Place. That Finnish sensibility, that hippy commune, that artist way of life. Shame doesn't really stand a chance.

"What you really need is sauna. That cures everything. And vihta." Shirt and jacket discarded, Tom slips off his boots by the fire, undoing his pants easily, glancing back with pleasant conversation.

"You'll feel better immediately."

[tinstar]

Raylan can't even to begin to imagine what that might mean but he keeps his eyes above tit level, lest Tom thinks Raylan is openly ogling him. Not that he wouldn't, mind you, but he was trying to be polite and keep everyone comfortable.

"If I'm bein' honest, washin' the blood and dirt off me has already been the best part of my day. I know what a sauna is but what's a vihta?" There was no accent on it, no tilt or drawl and he feels painfully American in the moment of it.

"I'm not particularly worried about sharin' a bath with you, if that's a concern. I know places that aren't America have been doin' communal bathin' for ages and ages."

[sukeltaja]

Tom's laugh is more of a giggle as he slides down to join the other finally, sighing happily. He's got his own scar now along his torso, but it had been healed by Darling and looks a lot better than Raylan's.

"Vihta," he pronounces it properly, a little slower. "Bundled birch twigs. Take a bunch, tie them together, soak it in warm water for half an hour, bring it to your sauna and hit yourself with it." He mimicks doing it to his back.

"Sauna vihta. And an ice cold beer."

around milton

[bigbaddy]

Bigby is right in the middle of surveying the dent in his door outside of his house when he realizes there's someone walking up the road. He turns his head to look. The figure is easy enough to recognize, though Bigby is just a little bit too observant to not notice the slightly odd way of walking. Nothing too huge, but he sees it - even stares at Raylan as the other approaches from the distance until Bigby speaks up when he's closer by.

"You got hurt in the attack?" He doesn't sound surprised about it. Bigby is pretty sure tons of people got hurt in it. No one who was out there in it would have made it out without getting hit in some way, surely.

So it sounds more like he's looking for confirmation. It could be something else, after all. Plenty of shit happening all the time here.

[tinstar]

Raylan had a short list of people he wanted to lay eyes on and Bigby was one of them. He was one of those community members that smart people hoped stayed on the map for a plethora of reasons. The community needed people like them; steadfast, reliable if a little annoying with it. He didn't mind that Bigby saw the facts of reality and so there was no reason to lie directly about it. That didn't mean he wouldn't bend towards sunshine.

"Nothin' worth worryin' about. Slows me down for a couple of weeks but I'll be fine. You look almost unscathed - what's the damage here, how's your people?"

Those were the priorities for anyone with sense after something like this. Raylan might be hurt but he's unable to sit still. He wanted to help.

[bigbaddy]

"Yeah, I'm mostly fine," he confirms. "Got some damage during the fights, but someone healed me up."

Against Bigby's own protests, mind you, but he doesn't add that part. It feels kind of embarrassing to admit out lout to anyone else, especially when the person stubbornly overriding his own arguments had been a teenage girl..

Still, there's something in his expression when he looks over at Raylan. It's faintly there because of the resting gruff face taking up most of said expression, but there's a hint of something like.. relief, almost. Or something glad.

Raylan asking him specifically about his people and if they're okay is cementing him as good people in Bigby's mind.

"My kid's mostly fine-- thankfully, because I was sure he'd get himself into trouble. Got a large dent in the door," he says, knocking on it as he says it, because-- yeah, that dent is very visible and obvious, "but otherwise it seems like we came out of this rather lucky."

[tinstar]

A note of acknowledgement is grunted with a shallow, approving nod. Better that there was someone out there providing that kind of service than not - there was no bitterness or anything that he himself hadn't found himself under such talented hands. Pain was a lesson for learning from.

"You got a kid here?" Always with a shocking something, Bigby, but at least this one is more normal to Raylan. He had assumed that Bigby had people he was invested in but a kid was not on his proverbial Bingo card. "Damn. Yeah, lucky is right. But good, less work to do. I'm lookin' to keep my hands busy and I can only deliver so much firewood around, so I'm focusin' on tryin' to save what structures I can, or fix damage that needs fixin'... You ever notice that the Community roof is startin' to lean?"

Firewood including to Snow's earlier the previous day. He was starting to patrol, though he didn't quite feel and understand it as such yet. It was just moving, because that was better. He didn't know Bigby had lived here, but there was something of an understanding of connection between them for Raylan now.

[bigbaddy]

He seems to take in the other's words for a moment, but his eyebrows rise a little with surprise when Raylan mentions the part about the roof. Apparently Bigby hadn't noticed, despite being here so long - or maybe it's exactly because he's been here so long that lets him no longer pay attention to the small stuff, like the way a roof of an important building in town may start to lean.

"Is it? Just what we could use right about now," he says, an obvious touch of sarcasm in his voice, even if it's aimed at this place rather than at Raylan.

This place does love throwing many things at once at them, after all.

"Thankfully we got you looking after it then. I can do a lot of stuff, but I've never tried fixing a roof before." He sighs, before realizing he passes over a point, adding: "And-- yeah, I have a kid here. Kind of made me realize how you must feel, hearing all the shit about the place I come from, 'cause that's how I felt when he showed up. I don't have kids, y'know. Not yet, I mean."

Bigby doesn't make it too explicit just yet, but it's probably not all that hard to draw some lines between the dots here to see what he means - a kid coming from his own future, one he didn't even know about yet.