{ inbox } hadriel

[nonscriptum]

This is Nate, you know what to do. I'll get back to you.

Comments

[nonscriptum]

[ Nate is .5 seconds away from asking how serious it is when Gene laughs, so the humor tempers his concern. He's tired of privatizing all his messages with people anyway, so the request makes sense and saves him the hassle of a call over something in-person. ]

Uh- yeah. Yeah, I don't blame you. Where do you wanna meet?

[preseance]

You know, I could go for some ice cream? Meet me in the village square in 'bout fifteen?

( they will go bother the crab!! )

[nonscriptum]

[ Nate doesn't think he's yet partaken in their local crab's creamery, so why not? Ice cream for breakfast sounds perfectly respectable. ]

Done. I'll see you there.

> action

[preseance]

( he's there early, dressed rather casually for someone who defaulted to a military uniform for the first few weeks of his presence here. his lantern's tied off to his belt an' emits a soft golden glow that ain't unlike the first fingers of dawn light cleaving the sky on the horizon. soon as he sees nathan, he gives him a friendly little wave an' ambles towards him at a leisurely pace. )

Heard the red beet's not too bad.

[nonscriptum]

[ Nate makes a face like he doubts the claim a little bit, but is willing to try anything at least once. He hated everything about tripe until someone stir-fried it in chili oil in a stall next to a tuk-tuk repair shop in Thailand. ]

I'll take your word for it. Guessing this is better than ration chocolate, right?

[preseance]

( wow, don't you slander the good name of hersheys like this, nathan. gene actually laughs and digs out the last of the bars he's been hoarding. another thing he'd win in poker matches. he breaks off a rectangle an' holds it on out for nate to sample it. figures, a man who loves history probably ain't had much chance to interact with things from his era that're as new as the day they were issued. this was from one of the last d-rations he got in holland. )

Depended on the ration. D-rations got the good stuff, straight outta the Hershey factory, an' they got to bypass wartime rationin' anyhow. C-Rats... eh, tasted like chocolate dirt unless you got lucky with the Brachs.

[nonscriptum]

[ It was a joke, sort of. Judging by the look on Nate's face he didn't anticipate Gene reaching into some secret wartime snack stash and pulling out the thickest bar of chocolate he's ever seen in his life. The cube snaps off neatly and Gene holds it out to him with the kindness Nate has come to expect of him, and Nate honestly can't resist the opportunity to try 1940s chocolate in mint condition, per the period.

He examines it for a moment before biting off a corner, chewing it speculatively and concluding that it tastes like a cross between an energy bar and a handful of cacao nibs. ]

It's not bad. Kinda tastes like Mexican chocolate without the spices. A little bitter.

[preseance]

( he envies that about nate, you know? that curiosity. he has that sense about him that he'll go anywhere an' try anythin' once. there's somethin' wonderful an' warmin' to be around that manner of soul, an' gene smiles to see him try the chocolate. )

'Not bad', he says. Lordy, I oughta cuff you.

( but he's absolutely laughing as he says it, an' it ain't hardly meant in any serious manner at all. )

[nonscriptum]

Don't miss your chance.

[ He quips, popping the rest of it in his mouth like the absolutely Godless heathen he is. Around the Clif Bar masquerading as Hershey's chocolate Nate grins, and wonders if this really does count as breakfast.

At least he finishes chewing and swallowing before speaking again. ]

Wish I had some M&Ms to give you, you'd probably hate 'em.

[preseance]

( he doesn't quite cuff him, but he does give nathan's shoulder a playful shove just the same. )

Oh, you're a regular ol' gas, ain't you.

( but it's said with due fondness, at least. investigate a creepy forest with a guy an' it's like you ain't never been aught but pals. )

An' I'll have you know, Mr. History, we had M&Ms all the way back in '41 an' I take exception to your thinkin' otherwise.

( sorry nate he misunderstood your purpose in mentioning them. he's gotten so used to folks referencing things he ain't seen yet or heard of as if it's old hat to them that it's just the default he's come to expect now. )

[nonscriptum]

Hey!

[ He laughs at the shove, providing an exaggerated wince for the effort in spite of the fact that it was light enough to be a love tap. Nate rubs any remaining chocolate residue off on his jeans like the animal he is and tries to school his face into Taking Gene Seriously. ]

I know, I know. They invented them for the war. But the formula's changed now! They're way sweeter, I don't think you'd like them.

[preseance]

( nathAN WHERE ArE YOUr ManNeRS! good lord, gene carries a handkerchief you could have used you absolute reprobate. then again, three years of war have all but stripped away the niceties, so at best nathan just gets a put-upon sigh. )

You're gonna feel awful silly if I ever get to try one an' think they're swell, huh?

( honestly, though, he's betting the man's right. besides the odd coke, which tasted a bit different than it does here in beacon, he ain't ever had much cause for sugar in his diet. but while all this is nice an' pleasant, they're still here for a purpose. gene rolls one shoulder, an' then gestures towards the ... ice cream crab spirit? )

Come on, let's go get our ice cream.

[nonscriptum]

[ Unlike Eugene Hicks, Nate is not a good Southern boy with good Southern manners,and will therefore treat his jeans as terribly as he desires. He catches the sigh, just at the end there, and grins despite himself. Payback for Gene's suggestion that Nate chop lumber for charity. ]

We'll see.

[ He might ask Rastus if he can get some M&Ms for the express purpose of finding out. More importantly, however, there is second breakfast to attend to. ]

What flavor are you gonna get? So hard to choose between Prickly Pear and- [ Grimace. ] ...pickle.

[preseance]

( he claps a hand to nate's shoulder. companionably, )

Adventurous fella like you, turnin' down the chance to try 'em all? It's like I ain't never known you t'all.

( he is aghast. aghast!! )

Reckon I'm gonna start with mulberry, though. That one sounds like it ain't too bad.

( honestly he is definitely a vanilla baby (in more ways than one) but, you know what? he's dead. why not live a little? so he negotiates a moment with the crab vendor and comes away with his ice cream, steppin' back so's nate can do the same. )

[nonscriptum]

[ He watches him make his selection in mild amusement and wonders how many ice cream flavors exist in the mid-1940s, as the choice Gene ends up making is fairly tame. There's time enough for him to attempt to swallow a bite of butter and lobster flavored ice cream. ]

Gene. [ With all the affected sincerity Nate can muster, he places a gentle hand upon Gene's shoulder. ] I'm gonna try every one of these until I get sick. But I'm gonna start with pineapple cilantro.

[ Which is what he promptly breaks away to retrieve from the little vendor station, thanking the 'cream crab and digging his spoon in. It's a pale yellow, with little flecks of green. Not bad. Around half a mouthful: ]

So what'd you wanna talk about?

[preseance]

( he ain't never one to shy away from hard things. he's silent a brief spell, an' then, )

That fella Rafe, he's from your world, ain't he?

1/4

[nonscriptum]

[ Nate chokes on his ice cream. ]

[nonscriptum]

[ coughs ]

[nonscriptum]

[ clears his throat ]

[nonscriptum]

...yeah?

[preseance]

( that. sure is an interestin' sort of reaction. gene raises his eyebrows, reaches out to put a steady hand on nate's shoulder. )

Y'all right?

[nonscriptum]

[ Apparently Rafe is making the rounds with all the swiftness and aplomb he's known for, in fancy people circles. Nate wrinkles up his face as he coughs again on a flake of cilantro. ]

Yeah, I'm good.

[ He sounds mildly strangled, but recovers quickly and puts on the most pointedly neutral face he can muster. ]

That's what you wanted to talk to me about? Rafe?

[preseance]

( he squeezes nate's shoulder briefly, an' then drops his hand away. his ice cream is drippin' on his hand an' he wipes at it idly with the kerchief he keeps in his back pocket. )

Yeah. ( his tone is soft as he wipes down his hands. ) I wagered on the odds of it bein' a conversation with some weight to it.

( if they were friends, nate would'a mentioned him by now. it's the nature of things. you don't keep someone from your same world secret unless there's a reason to the doin'. )

[nonscriptum]

You couldn't have waited until I finished my ice cream?

[ His voice lilts up at the end, jokingly accusatory. Gene didn't mean anything untoward by it, he doesn't think, not in the cruel and unusual sense. It isn't his style to be willfully deceptive, even if Nate feels as though he's been lured out here by the promise of pineapple cilantro only to be blindsided by Rafe fucking Adler. ]

Why're you asking? You meet him?

[preseance]

Couple times.

( he drags his small plastic spoon along the edge of his ice cream dish to catch anything that's meltin' down. )

Clued in some when he started talkin' about pirates. ( there were too many similarities, an' gene ain't a fool. you look for the leylines between folk, you're sure to find 'em plain. ) But I kept your name outta my mouth.

( it's as gentle a reassurance as he can go on an' offer. he doesn't know the story. doesn't need to, either, but he does want nate to know that he'd played his cards close enough to his chest. he likes rafe, that's a choice he's made on his own. but he's worldly enough to understand that nate an' rafe likely ain't keen on each otehr. )