Cleaning crew

[ronfiction]

Lou considers Sally's two cents about JD and shrugs a little. Oddly enough, Sally would be one of the few people in town who's opinion on the matter would actually hold some weight. Traumatic experiences like what they had recently endured were not something to be taken lightly and if Sally could forgive, Lou figured he should be able to as well. As for JD seemingly appointing himself to be the one to deal with the serial killer wolf man, Lou couldn't care less about the schemes he may or may not have. Lou would do what he had to to deal with the situation as he saw fit.

"You raise a good point Sally. I guess dying briefly puts ya in a foul mood. I'll remain civil for sure, but I'm not starting a JD fan club anytime soon."

Lou said flatly and rubbed his chin some while he contemplated forgiveness. He thought brought the conversation. Back around some and he rises an eyebrow at Alice.

"You and father Ashmore were seemingly close. Maybe we should have regular mass start up. Get us more of that normalancy we were talking about. I think some folks could really use it considering recent events."

He speculated and looked to Dallas. He agreed with her in that there was a good crowd in the diner for such an weird hour.

"Maybe they all got word of the perks of being the dude to clean up."

He said to her and moved to grab a bottle of water.

[kimp]

:: Liberty's gaze shifts to Sally's scrubbing. The surface looks better than it probably has since it cane from the mill. There is understanding in her eyes as, wIth a half-smile, she moves to the end of the table ::

I have had occasion to clean up fluids before. Once or twice. In kitchens, of course :: she ducks her head slightly and grins ::

Kitchens can get messy. Which is why I know it is sometimes good to check the underside of surfaces. Want to grab the other end? I think we can flip this thing.

:: there is a pause, then she adds :: Just to make sure everything is wiped clear.

:: Putting action to words she braces her hands on the end of the table, then looks at him again and says without any transition, like cleanup is just a thing, not a form of catharsis to be commented upon ::

The book is Battle Royale Slam Book. It's essays on the movie. Have you seen it? :: she pauses, then adds :: The movie. Not the book.

[PoeticJustice]

As Sally shifted to allow her a chance to speak with Lou, she gave a panicked look over her shoulder. But it wasn't the normal sort of panicked, where she looked genuinely concerned that she might explode in a very literal fashion, raining pain and havoc down upon the world. It was the sort of panicked a girl gave to her friend at a party when they went to slip away and leave them to fend for themselves.

Where are you going? What am I supposed to say? Don't leave me alone!

But the look of reassurance and shoulder squeeze she got just made her look back at Lou, her expression vaguely miserable in a perfectly mundane way for the split second, staring at the floor and her now stained bandana.

But then Lou seemed to say a magic word -- Ashmore -- and her head rose shyly, glancing over at him and then to Dallas.

"Maybe. With... everything going on here... Giving some of the local people a place of safety and happiness... A place where they can just sit and enjoy a cold beer and something to eat by the water... I don't... know what else people normally do at, um, cook-outs, but... They are generally considered... fun, right?" she glanced between Dallas and Lou shyly, chewing on the inside of her lip before she looked down at her hand and continued her scrubbing.

[ronfiction]

Lou had some water from the bottle he picked up and watched Alice as she continued to clean some. He was tempted to help her but knew her to be the type not to take help from most people. He could respect that, not being one for hand outs himself.

"I actually gave confession for the first time in a while. Makes me feel better every time I do. Father Francis heard me out but I'm used to talking with father Ashmore. I think if we get him to come around more often it would be good for the town."

He said to Alice and swished his water bottle around some.

[PoeticJustice]

She shifted further away from Sally, moving to the post beside the table. There was a smear of blood across the back of it, and along the floor near it. For a second Alice allowed herself to think of how it had got her, when she collapsed against it and refused to move. Another violent head shake.

You can keep moving forward. Putting one foot in front of the other. That is a choice you have. And one you have to make yourself... The words ran through her head and she latched onto them, keeping herself from being swept backwards into her memory.

A shaky inhalation and she began to clean the post, processing what Lou had said to her. She gave a weak smile.

"I could not agree with you more. Unfortunately," a touch more elbow grease into her scrubbing. "He's busy with a lot of things. Still..." she paused, considering. "This might be worth it. Bringing levity and laughter and... hope to Whisper Hill. All things they could use certainly."

She continued her cleaning, although one could see the wheels turning in her head as she tried to fathom exactly what a "cookout" entailed, and how one executed such a thing.

[ronfiction]

Lou rubbed his chin some and thought some and took another sip from his water bottle.

"Maybe we need a director of festivities or something."

He said with a chuckle.

"A community activity head or something. Someone to plan cook outs, bingo nights, maybe fire works or something. Heck that could be fun. What do you think Dallas? Bet you Boston folks don't really need one of those."

Lou asked and nodded to her.

[Heather N]

Dallas strangely had an understanding towards Alice's lack of experience with 'normalcy'. Being a paramedic, she had encountered many different types of people. Most of them were damaged in some sort of way. She was starting to realize that it wasn't just she who was being thrust into the unknown. These 'special' people were also being forced back into what most people might call the normal world.

"I can tell you, back in Boston I was part of a great deal of cook out sort of ordeals. At least once a month our station would hold some sort of fundraiser for a charity. The whole point of the thing is to raise moral. Get people to join together and be happy."

She rubbed the back of her head.

"We should spread the word and get everyone to pitch an idea in. There are so many different types of..."

She paused for a moment as if she needed to think of the word.

"Uh, people in this town. We could incorporate something from each...culture?"

Again she really did not know how to address the fact that it was possible not all the people in town were well, people.

"I am sure there is something you do for fun Alice. Am I right?"

She offered a friendly smile.

[Eden Jones]

Eden walks in and looks around the room with a smile. "I didn't know the Insomnia Club had called a meeting tonight. Hello there, everyone!"

She found an empty table where she could sit and face the rest of the room, then carefully set her guns on the table and pulled a box of cleaning equipment from the voluminous bag she often carried around. Waking up in the middle of the night was common for Eden when she was stressed, and the routine of cleaning her weapons often helped to still her mind enough to go back to sleep eventually.

"I hope I'm not interrupting or intruding, but I heard talk of a cookout and other social activities. That all sounds wonderful to me. Who's doing the organizing and would they like some help?"

She thinks for a moment. "Any thoughts on involving the townsfolk who were here before we inundated them with our presence? Might go a ways towards smoothing over the rough edges in our interactions with them, depending on how things went."

[PoeticJustice]

What do I do for fun? The question clearly struck Alice out of left field and she paused and frowned, considering how she could possibly answer. Hunt demons? Obsessively attempt to memorize complicated strings of Latin? Obsessively maintain weapons? The answers moved through her mind one after another, each being discarded one after the other.

And then she sat straight up as a metaphorical lightbulb went up over her head. She actually, legitimately, smiled. She dropped the rag, scrabbling excitedly over to where she had set her bag, worn and bearing the words "Planet Hollywood". She began to dig through it, pulling out a worn paperback (True Grit) with some bloody smears along the edge of the cover. She glanced back to Sally and his conversation with Liberty, looking down before she looked back to Dallas, Lou, and Eden

"I like reading," she said brightly, an excited expression crossing her face. She then lowerd the book and gave Eden a shy smile, subduing slightly.

"We were talkin' 'bout it, but no one had offered to run it or nothin'. I think it's a real good idea, but... don't know the first thing about it..."

[Sally]

Nodding along to Liberty's suggestion, Sally grabs the other end of the table, and the two of them flip it over to the grimy underside.

"Battle Royal? All them Jap-an-ese kiddos wastin' each other, right?" he said, his eyes lighting up for just a moment. Not a day ago, he had been in a dark field, dodging slashes of a katana and trying to remember all the dirty words he knew in Japanese- Baka! Kusotarre! he'd shouted with his usual twang. "I'll bet college types found all sortsa shit to say about society in that there flick, huh?"

Looking down to the greasy and gory mess of the tables underside, Sally lets out a "Shiiiiit," and grabs for that bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide.

Every now and then, he glances over to Alice and grins, even giving her a wink and a nod should she look back. He made a note to get her around more folks like Lou, or hell, even Maxwell or Kelsey or Mr. Gondorff would be a nice break from the HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT crew. Sally paused for a moment, remembering something from earlier in the day. Something about Deputy Director White unloading a clip into Phil Gormley. He'd better look in on the lawyer tomorrow.

Shaking his head back, Sally gets right to work, and asks Liberty, "Tell me you weren't readin' that book durin' Quarantine, with all us whackjobs locked up togetha?"

At the sound of Dallas and Eden (Sally gives Ms. Jones a wave, his hand wagging a bloody, sudsy rag) joining the Cookout plans, Sally calls out, "Squirrel Stew! Jackrabbit Pot Pie... PIE SHIT! PIE! We're supposed to all join in on the fall Pie Makin' Festival. Eugene Jackson said it's tha easiest way to get on the towns' goodside!"