Plans in Motion [November Open]

[batteryacid]

Who: Eddie Kaspbrak ... & Angel (graveling) , Sam Porter Bridges (300kgbackpack) , First Aid (lovinglefthand) , Milo Fields (pinandcove) , and YOU
What: Upgrading Eddie's farm
When: November
Where: E. Kaspbrak Farm, possibly Sam's construction site
Warning(s): none as of posting, will add if needed

Note: The folks I listed up top are those who I figure would be most interested or involved in the farm upgrade. No pressure to actually tag in or thread, but know you can hop in if you like! And just because I didn't tag your character is not to exclude you, all are welcome :)

Feel free to hit up the open prompts here, on his previous log if you like. "Food Isn't Going to Grow Itself" and "Been Hanging Around This Town" are general enough to still apply.

OPEN to ALL - Expanding the Farm

Eddie's farm is being expanded. Supplies for building a new greenhouse are being carted out to Northwest Hollow (under the direction of experienced porter Sam, perhaps) and some of the neighbors are assisting in the construction of that.

There's also a pen being in the barn, for keeping the new nanny goat. And a larger coop for the chickens, now that a rooster is being added to the flock. Lot of building going on. Eddie is at least starting all of it, but he'll also be going to and from each work site as they ask his opinions on things.

Feel free to pitch in, or just say hello!

****

OPEN to ALL - Not a Day, but a Few Hours of Rest At Least

Or perhaps you have arrived afterward, when an exhausted Eddie has flopped onto the settee and made the executive decision of 'I'm going to sleep here and to hell with it if my back hates me in the morning'.

Feel free to cajole him into eating supper and doing other self care things.

****

CLOSED to ANGEL - Home

Angel is always welcome at the farm, of course. He's got new animals to meet, for one thing -- maybe these will like him?

He may have showed up during the day and assisted with the various construction projects, but it's not until evening that Eddie and Angel will have time alone together. Still... time alone with Angel is something that Eddie treasures.

****

Also always down for a Wildcard so consider this your permission to get creative.

Comments

Home

[graveling]

Angel's made an excuse to go back to his place before settling at Eddie's for the night. He had to change clothes (hey, guess who has new clothes) and pick up a heavy, lopsided package wrapped in brown paper, which he hands to Eddie once he arrives again.

[batteryacid]

Drat, Eddie's plans to hug Angel immediately upon his return have been stymied! (By a present, so... that's okay.)

"Oh! You got something for me..?" Eddie smiles, a touch nervously, "Did I forget a special occasion?"

He takes the package over to the kitchen table, setting it down before carefully unwrapping it to reveal the contents....

[graveling]

It's a quilt. A heavy, handmade quilt from a local artisan in a traditional local pattern of colorful lanterns. The kind that will make winter snuggling all the more cozy.

"No occasion. Just. Nights are getting colder."

[batteryacid]

"It's beautiful!" Eddie exclaims. He steps back from the table to shake it out and admire the pattern and stitching.

Then, perhaps unexpectedly, Eddie swirls the quilt and wraps it around himself like a cape. And he holds out one of his quilt-draped arms to Angel, laughs brightly, and says, "Seems perfect for cuddling, but let's try it out."

[graveling]

Angel steps in toward Eddie, nuzzling his cheek. "Looks good on you. like a king's ceremonial robe, all fancy like."

But yes, the cuddling is why he bought it. "Couch or bed?"

[batteryacid]

Eddie nuzzles back a little bit, and kisses Angel's cheek afterward. He looks amused at the comparison to a king, and murmurs, "If I'm a king, then you're my prince consort."

After a moment of thought, Eddie says, "Bed. Definitely. Far more comfortable, and easier to trap the warmth between us when we're lying down." (Sure, it's all warmth from Eddie, but he's glad to share.)

He makes sure that the quilt isn't dragging on the ground and starts walking for the bedroom.

[graveling]

Angel follows, pausing only to take off his shoes before flopping onto the bed with a contented expression. There would be a contented sigh, but the whole breathing thing.

"Your project looks pretty amazing. Your farm, your animals. It's all pretty great."

[batteryacid]

Eddie kicks his own shoes off, then drapes the quilt over Angel before crawling in beside him.

"Thank you. I'm sorry that Greta Goat tried to headbutt you. I was hoping she'd more like Thread."

Eddie gives Angel a soft kiss on the lips, then makes sure the quilt is securely tucked around them both.

[graveling]

"I'm used to animals not liking me. Thread is an oddball. I love her, but she's an oddball." Angel flashes a tiny smile, settling in like the corpse he is.

"If the goat goes over well, what's next? More goats? Cows? At some point, it'll be more than you can do all alone."

Expanding The Farm

[theydrewfirstblood]

He's trying. He's really trying, and it's...not going badly? He hasn't found work yet, but he's not trying very hard yet. He's keeping busy, attempting to be social...

...then he hears about what sounds like a barn raising. Neighborhood shit, the kind of thing they got together once or twice at home when he was young.

It feels like something out of a dream, home, but when he gets the address and shows up? It's actually really good. The only military skills he needs are technical, mechanical, and everything else is just hard labor. It's simple, tough, honest farm work, and it's painful in its familiarity.

It's the most peaceful John's felt in a long time--until his sharp reflexes have him turning to catch a rogue missile flying at him from behind.

Rather than be startled or frightened--that telltale cluck isn't a sound any weapon he's ever used makes--John laughs at the chicken he's holding. Making quick work of snagging her feet so she can't claw at him, he tucks her against his chest with a raised eyebrow.

"Hell you think you're doin', chicky baby?" he murmurs, deep voice a croon as one thumb smooths over her feathers soothingly. "What pen you bust outta, hmm?"

[batteryacid]

"Oh, Bobbin!" just the way that Eddie says that name, you know this chicken has been trouble in the past. (And she'll continue in the future!) He can't help smiling at the gobsmacked look on the white chicken's face, given how neatly that John neutralized her.

Eddie doesn't step up close, giving John his space (as he's done with all of the volunteer workers). And he doesn't try to take Bobbin back, figuring it'll be easier if he shows John where to drop her off.

He gives John a small smile, and says, "Thank you for catching her. There's no henhouse or pen she hasn't broken out of yet... and she's a little thief, aren't you, Miss Bobbin?" The last bit is addressed to the chicken, in a lightly scolding tone.

"Baw-awwk..." is Bobbin's only defense, and she looks unrepentant anyway.

[theydrewfirstblood]

John glances up at the fed up voice, his smile growing as the blonde man approaches. Turning back to the chicken, Bobbin, he gently strokes her beak with one finger with a gentle shushing noise.

"Bobbin, huh? You gonna slug me for flirtin' with you, Bobs?" he teases, earning him another quiet cluck and a nip at his finger. Looking back over at the other man, he just nods in acknowledgment of his thanks.

"I come from a horse ranch, but we kept a couple chickens when I was a kid." he admits. "Troublemakers, all of 'em. Gotta appeal to their egos. Right, Bobs?"

"B'k-KAAAAAWK!"

Snickering, John realizes he's just sort of...holding the chicken. She seems to like it, and he's missed animals, but it's not his chicken and this is clearly the owner of the property.

Taking a breath, he looks up at him again.

"Guess let's get her back where she belongs, then, and I can finish up with moving these 2x4's over here."

[batteryacid]

Eddie chuckles at that line about appealing to their egos. It sounds about right, especially for the queen of the coop. "My other girl, Thread, is more easy-going than Bobbin's ever been."

Eddie nods, and waves over at the now-expanded chicken coop before he walks toward it. "Sounds good to me. When we break for lunch, though, don't be surprised if she busts out to find you again... I've never seen her that calm with a new person before." He sounds amused by it, and not at all bothered by the fact that John is basically hugging one of his chickens.

(...given how Angel, and Jean, and now John have apparently bonded with and benefited from handling or petting the chickens, maybe therapy chickens will really become a thing on Marrow Isle.)

[theydrewfirstblood]

Thread and Bobbin—John can’t help but smile at that. Following the other man to the coop, he’s graduated to stroking Bobbin’s head while she just closes her eyes with a couple of quiet clucks and accepts the petting as her due.

“Maybe it’s the horse energy.” John muses lightly. “The problem children always seemed to like me. You just gotta keep your head…right, Gorgeous? ‘Course…”

He continues cajoling and praising Bobbin right up to and into the coop. He feels a little wistful at the loss of her soft feathers and warm weight against his chest, but he pushes it aside as he deposits her where she belongs.

“There you go, Mr…Kaspbrak? Am I pronouncing that right?”

[batteryacid]

Eddie smiles warmly to see Bobbin basking in the affection and petting from this new person. It's good to see her finally making a new friend -- as much as the chickens are being kept for their egg laying capabilities, Eddie also sees them as pets and wants them to be happy.

"There's probably a more Polish way to say it, but you've got it. At least for the way I've always pronounced it." Eddie nods, and offers a hand. "Eddie Kaspbrak. And you are?"

[theydrewfirstblood]

There’s a bare instant of hesitation before John accepts the handshake—not out of fear or discomfort, but just because he’s still getting used to being so…social. He could go days, sometimes weeks without talking to anyone, and it’s easy for the niceties to slip away from him.

“John Rambo—I hope you don’t mind the extra hand, I just heard some people talking in town that there was a sort of…open call for help.”

[batteryacid]

"Don't mind at all! I'm real glad folks have decided to pitch in to help." Eddie grins, and starts walking back to 'the scene of the attack', AKA where John was before Bobbin decided to get his attention. "Putting up the goat pen, expanding the chicken coop, and raising a greenhouse with just me and Angel would take forever."

It's why Eddie spent last night cooking for everybody as a thank you. Sandwiches for lunch, with some cold beer from one of the breweries, and a big pot of beef stew waiting to be reheated just in case the work goes on through dinner time.

Eddie rolls his sleeves up again in preparation to help John with the moving of two-by-fours. No comment, just does it so they can keep chatting.

The Farm

[tisnotthehouse]

"You aren't supposed to be out here," Tarantulas informs the hen that's wandered into one of his snares. He thought it would be enough to stay outside the fenced-off farmlands -- he has no wish to earn anyone's enmity by trespassing -- but clearly not. Whoever this fat little morsel belongs to, clearly they need to improve her cage.

Tarantulas groans and grumbles to himself as he transforms, dresses, and gently extracts the hen from his trap, holding her close as he begins to walk towards the nearest farmhouse. Being good is truly exhausting. He must have built Ostaros better than he knew, for the young mech to perform so many heroics without being worn out by them. At least the hen is tame or stupid enough that she doesn't struggle in his grip.

"I could just eat you right now," he gripes. "Nobody would ever know except me. I guess that's the secret," he sighs. "That's how Springer was able to stay so good, even though he took so many bad orders from Prowl and that weak-willed fool Impactor. He held his own self accountable. Ugh."

[batteryacid]

"Ba-awk awk!" the fat brown chicken cries out sadly, trying to flutter free of the snare. The snare does its job and keeps her stuck, until Tarantulas releases her.

Once freed, Thread looks up at Tarantulas with those big eyes (like cute shiny black buttons) and then settles comfortably into his arms. Thread nuzzles at Tarantulas, entirely ignorant to what Tarantulas is contemplating as he walks them out of the forest.

Which farm does Thread belong to? How will Tarantulas find out?

[tisnotthehouse]

How far can one little hen wander? He starts with the nearest farm, walking right up to someone working in the field and asking if they recognize this chicken. Surely they can tell him where she needs to go.

[batteryacid]

The problem is, it was two little hens, taking turns chasing each other and scolding. Once they were done with that, Bobbin went off toward town and Thread went into the forest and stumbled into the snare trap.

The farm worker -- who had been about to bolt before seeing Thread -- does answer, "That's one of Mr. Kaspbrak's chickens. There's a sign on his gate with his name. Go on down the road that way." He points the way.

"Bokka bokka bokka..." Thread clucks cheerfully to herself as Tarantulas begins walking toward the correct farm.

[tisnotthehouse]

Well, at least one of them is coming home now. After the reaction of the first person, Tarantulas even remembers to neatly curl his spider legs around his torso and hide them under his coat. Perhaps he should also have brought something to cover his face? Ugh, he didn't anticipate having to talk to anyone today.

"What a lot of trouble you are," he tells the chicken, absently petting her back. "I hope for your sake you make yourself useful in other ways, or someday somebody's going to get tired of you and wring your pretty neck."

He finds the sign easily enough, and the gate. His voice isn't suited to yelling, but he makes the effort anyway, calling out a "Hello?" as he walks toward the farmhouse.

[batteryacid]

The majority of construction on the farm expansion has been completed by now, so the normal business of E. Kaspbrak Farm has resumed. Some of that normal business being feeding the chickens... and Eddie has recently discovered that only the rooster, Singer, was waiting by the coop.

Bobbin making an escape is old hat by now, and she always comes back. But this is the first time that Thread has also gone missing. Eddie glances around worriedly, hoping to maybe see Angel's gal pal scratching around outside of the normal bounds of the coop but still on the property.

Nothing.

And then a new voice is calling out a greeting. Eddie turns to respond, and sees a very unusual person coming toward him. A person holding Thread! His worried look melts into relief, and he hurries over to them.

"Oh, you found her!" Eddie says, "Thread has never run off before! Thank you for bringing her back!"

No reaction to the way that Tarantulas looks just yet... especially since those spider legs are hidden under the coat. Eddie is simply happy to see that his chicken is safe.

[tisnotthehouse]

"Eddie Kaspbrak, right? It was no trouble," Tarantulas lies easily. "The dear little thing wandered into one of my snares in the woods. I'm just glad I found her before anything else did."

He holds the chicken out for Eddie, smiling slightly.

[batteryacid]

Eddie takes Thread back and gives her a quick, reassuring cuddle before tucking her under one arm. "Please, come in. I'll have to go drop Thread off in the coop, but before I do that, can I get you something to drink? It's quite a walk to here from the forest."

Whether or not Tarantulas accepts the drink, Eddie lets him into the house to sit at the kitchen table. Eddie hurries off to put the chicken back where she belongs, then comes back into the house.

He gives Tarantulas a quick smile before heading upstairs -- and he comes down with a handful of brass. He lays it out on the table, so that it's easy to see it's 50 brass. "This is the high-end cost of a laying hen. And I'd like to give it to you, as a reward for returning Thread. She's important to the farm and my future plans for it. And my partner and I really care for her."