we stand shoulder to shoulder (veteran's social)

[theydrewfirstblood]

Who: John Rambo (theydrewfirstblood) & The Pumpkin Hollow Veterans' Association
What: Leveling up veteran's poker night with a barbecue
When: post-Blight
Where: Baker Ranch
Warning(s): General warnings for John's canon: violence, police brutality, PTSD, torture, etc., and likely similar for many other veterans here, check for further warnings throughout

(NOTE: Treat this as a gathering, but I personally will be backtagging into this for the duration of September, so don't be a stranger!)

Poker Night is something John looks forward to every month, but he got it into his head that it could be fun to do a little more, so he talked to a few people, did a little extra work...

...then the damn Thatcher's Blight hit and everything went to absolute shit.

Fortunately, the whole thing's blown over now, and once he's sure everything around the farm is as clean as it's gonna get? John goes through his stores and decides he's got enough food and drink for all--and tacks up a notice on the bulletin board just below that for the regular poker night, with a date and time as well as his phone number and address.

VETERAN'S SOCIAL, BAKER RANCH--BBQ & DRINKS, POTLUCK OPTIONAL

The event starts a few hours before dusk. John's set up a ways from the house with some tables, chairs, and blankets for those who want to go full on picnic style. It wouldn't be a veteran's night without poker, so there's a game going at one of the tables while another holds plates of food--regular game coming off the grill, along with a few other pieces of meat he picked up for those who aren't fans of game.

And, because Co is around, there's no visible chicken on the grill. Ever the pragmatist, there's a couple casseroles of simple baked chicken on the table, alongside some sides John's put together or any offerings that come along as part of the optional potluck. There's not a lot of alcohol, but John's got the last bottle or two of his little dandelion wine experiment available, as well as a couple other things. Mostly it's water, tea, coffee--tamer offerings.

Speaking of the animals, John's turned loose the ones he treats as pets: Sam the rooster spends the whole night chasing after and trying to wrangle Co, who makes no bones about harassing newcomers for adulation. Those she knows, if they sit still too long, will end up with a happy chicken nesting in their lap...one that will remain quiet only so long as you offer the bare minimum of scritches and pets. Dare to ignore her, and angry clucking will ensue. John's mare, Helga, can also be seen grazing around the goings-on, shy but not unfriendly. If a hot breath puffs on the back of your neck, she's just curious--if you pet her, she'll swish her tail happily and move on.

There's also a newer member of the family, whose only just getting big enough to let socialize: Bao, a female cottontail rabbit whose still young, but no longer too much of a baby to keep isolated. Though she spends a good portion of the night in John's arms when he's not busy, she does hop around loose, sticking close to John and to Co, who can be found very rarely nesting in a patch of grass with Bao tucked against her feathery side, gently attempting to "preen" Bao despite her lack of feathers.

And while this is, ostensibly, the veteran's social, any of Baker Ranch's varying degrees of resident are invited to the party, so if there's new faces about? Relax, they don't bite--unless you have food, then watch your hands. They're probably teenagers, and they don't discriminate when it comes to their appetites.

Comments

[stonecoldtop]

George smiles in response to the nod, and uses it as an excuse to meander over to the porch.

"Mind a little company?" He asks, indicating the empty space next to Edgar with a tilt of his head

[hate_gettin_older]

"Plenty of room," he says amiably, and nods at the space himself.

[stonecoldtop]

"Not one for cards either?" George asks as he sits beside Edgar

[hate_gettin_older]

"Nah, never got the hang of it."

Despite the man sitting on the porch steps as casually as he might do himself, everything about him says Front to Edgar. If he were given to introspection, it would bemuse him to realize how little that puts him off these days.

"What about you, same thing?"

[stonecoldtop]

"Something like that"

There's no part of him that isn't a front, especially here where so few can see his true face. It's not purposeful, it's just what he is. And one day George might even believe it's at all convincing.

"It's a little too close to lying for me."

[hate_gettin_older]

(If anyone were ever to tell Edgar about that meaning of "front," he'd accept it immediately. The meaning he knows is different: the wealthy, the privileged, the undeservedly fortunate. Those who live at the Front.)

"Huh." It's only a touch sardonic. "Seems like that ought to be easy enough."

[stonecoldtop]

"For some, I'm sure. But I've never been terribly good at it." He lies, so smoothly that it's impossible to tell.

"I'm George, by the way, pleasure to meet you."

[hate_gettin_older]

"Edgar," he says, "likewise."

There's a moment of quiet, companionable enough, with the noise of nearby conversation and laughter.