Video; un: R.BECKET

[righthemisphere]

[Hey all, been a few months. You remember this guy. The shirtless guy with the giant mech. Well he's back. Clothed, this time. Though he might get more help if he were shirtless again, huh. Alas.

Raleigh is outside, sitting next to a planting bed, lush with vegetation. Like so much. It's a suspicious amount of plant life for Trench.

He smiles and waves. It's dark, but there are little torches all over so it's got a luau kind of vibe.

The camera pans so you can see the garden properly. It's two huge raised beds full to the brim on either side of the walkway to a huge, newly finished greenhouse . Lit from the inside, she looks something of a crystal palace.]

Do you all see this? This is the future.

I dunno about all of you but I'm sick to death of mushrooms.

[He pans through the veggies, all growing happily under warded netting. Lettuce, tomatoes, squash, beans, corn. Familiar for a lot of people. Very rarely seen in this world.]

Last month all my powers turned into plant stuff so I've been making and growing as much as I can. Things are hard here and the soil is awful, but it can be done.

[Raleigh moves towards the green house. Free range chickens dart around his feet as he goes, looking for food. He's the mama. Some of them are wearing little crochet hats. Inside the greenhouse is table after table after table of seedlings. The other side is all planting beds full of soil ready to go.]

I've been thinking about how important food is to all of us. Not.. well, obviously it's important, but I mean culturally, too. Making food from home.. having ingredients from home.. that's kind of our last connection.

[He sets his Omni down and reappears in frame. He looks tired, but when doesn't he.]

So.. Is there anyone out there who cares about this stuff? Because honestly I have the land but I'm learning as I go along and I could use the help. I'm not a gardener but I think we can scale this in a way that means we all get access to fresh produce. Like a co-op thing? I dunno. The land needs purifying, water, there's no sun.

I was part of a seed bank back in Deerington. Has anyone saved seeds from last month's growth? Would you donate them towards the cause?

Oh- also dairy. That's something I want to work on. This is a stretch but if you have goats or cattle let me know.

Yeah.. okay. Okay, thanks.

Comments

[righthemisphere]

Hm.

[A question he has to give some real though to. There's a lot of ways to answer.

Give him a beat.]

It's alright, actually.

[Said earnestly. Raleigh has a good narrator voice, low and smooth with a hint of gravel when he's on a topic like this.]

When I was a kid, I used to look up at the sky and wonder about life out there. I didn't know until later that other dimensions were a real thing and I never woulda thought I'd end up in one of them.

It's dangerous, really dangerous, but every world is. At least here we have small mercies to make it easier. The patrons give as much as they take and death isn't permanent. For me it feels like a real chance to have the life I never could back home. With people I never would have met. So to me, the danger is worth it.

[killtime]

[ She has half a mind to resent that earnest honesty — and to fucking argue, because the way he talks about it, you'd think impermanent death was a good thing. But that's not fair of her, and she knows it.

Instead, she just exhales audibly, her sarcasm too tired to really cut when she answers: ]

So it's shitty and dangerous, but at least you have the friends you made along the fucking way? Strong sell there, sweetheart.

[ Except it sort of is, and she sort of hates that. ]

[righthemisphere]

[It takes Raleigh by surprise and he laughs, shaking his head. Like, she isn't wrong, but what.]

You sound like a friend of mine.

But yeah, I guess that is what I'm saying. Sure beats where I came from. Have you figured out your blood type and patron yet? Place to stay?

[killtime]

You must have questionable taste in friends.

[ Mildly then, answering without really answering: ]

Figured out a few things, sure. Not sleeping on the street either, so that's a start. [ The habitual dryness comes back: ] Why? You want to give me a pamphlet? Take me house shopping?

[righthemisphere]

[Well aren't you an open book. Luckily, Raleigh is nosy, persistent, and all his friends are assholes. He's married to one. He is also one. It's a whole buncha assholes over here on Trenchwood Farm.

When he answers, it's wry but without heat. He's getting an inkling of how to play the game with this lady and it's fun.]

Yeah, lemme just get my welcome wagon and I'll be over in a jiffy. Not like you're the one fishing for new arrival information or anything.

But they're all free, for the record. Tons of empty houses all over the place, you just find one you like and claim it. This is the lawless West.

[killtime]

[ A bunch of assholes living on a farm isn't too far off from what she loved and left back home. Birds of a feather, maybe. ]

If you really wanted to be to useful, you'd point me in the direction of a strong drink.

[righthemisphere]

[Sure seems to be something like that.]

Rocky's Barcade. Run by a guy called Dean. No frills brewery on site and he doesn't measure his pours. Tell him I sent you.

If you want something a little more classy it's The Raccoon Room. They're both in Cellar Door.

[If you want gasoline equivalent moonshine then you're talking to the guy.]

[killtime]

You sure you want me going around telling people you sent me? [ Dryly: ] You don't know what kind of drunk I am.

[righthemisphere]

If you’re as much fun drunk as you are sober it’ll be funny either way. He’s a big boy, he can take a little hell.

[Until Dean calls him to come and get your ass. But he can already tell you two will vibe. The shy music kid who minds the bar when Dean is busy? He isn’t sure.]

[killtime]

[ Big boy. Noted. She may or may not put that to the test. ]

Is this what qualifies as fun for you?

[righthemisphere]

Sure, why not.

[Giving Dean hell is fun for him, in the way it's fun to torture one of your few remaining friends. But also if Dean and this chick do vibe then that's great. Dean is even more isolated than Raleigh is and the guy could stand to catch a break. He's dependable, works hard, shows up when it counts. What else do you need to be?]

Why, do you want a list of my hobbies?

[killtime]

[ Seems cruel of Raleigh to inflict this woman on such a dependable friend, but a drink's a drink to Andy. The rest is just collateral damage. ]

I already know you're an optimistic chicken farmer named Raleigh. That's dangerously close to acquaintance as it is.

[righthemisphere]

Mm, it would be if I knew anything about you. What's your name?

[killtime]

[ A half-beat. Then, with a deceptively casual tone: ]

You can call me Andy. [ Dryly then: ] That makes it official.

[righthemisphere]

[Oh you're too kind. This humble chicken farmer thanks you.]

Deernet Official is almost as sacred as Facebook. Don't let me down, now.

[Raleigh no one cares about your stupid gen z memes]

[killtime]

[ She barely knows what Facebook is, Raleigh. She's MUCH TOO OLD FOR THIS!! ]

You've talked to me this entire time — you have some sense of what I'm like. If you end up disappointed, that's on you.

[righthemisphere]

[ok boomer]

Huh, yeah I guess that's valid.

Where'd you serve?

[killtime]

Middle East.

[ Technically true. TECHNICALLY THERE ARE NO LIES HERE. Even that barely scratches the surface of a centuries-long personal history of warfare. ]

You?

[righthemisphere]

[No pussyfooting around and no unnecessary details. Easy banter. Raleigh knows a soldier when he hears one. It’s oddly comforting.]

Pacific rim.

[Not that he thinks she’ll know why.]

Split between Anchorage and Hong Kong.

[killtime]

[ Funny, but it is comforting. Something familiar, a common thread. ]

At sea?

[righthemisphere]

Coastal.

[killtime]

You miss it?

[righthemisphere]

Not really. Kinda over watching everyone I love die.

[Really over being the one who lives.]

[killtime]

[ She's quiet for a tangible moment. Then, a bit distantly: ]

Leaving the fight doesn't change that. People die. That's what they do.

[righthemisphere]

Sure.

[No denying that. But it's different and he knows she must know that.]

Doesn't mean I wanna carry their tags.

[A beat.]

But you follow a calling to do what the world needs. And in battle you make choices. Those choices have consequences you have to live with.

My fight's over, anyway. I'm retired.

[Only he isn't. A quick search on the network will see a darkblood recruitment drive headed by yours truly in preparation for The Battle of Farther Shores not three months ago.]