can't seem to find our state of grace

[tryingitall]

Who: Balthazar and OPEN
What: Exploring and chatting.
When: Day 54
Where: All over the place, but eventually the bar and House 11. Encounter him anywhere you like.
Warnings: Probably none, will update if that changes.


Balthazar's not sure whether to be optimistic about this brave new world or not. There's no question but that certain individuals here are a threat. Raphael and Lucifer? Scary. Whatever's got them all trapped here? Also scary. At the moment, though, the weather is fairly pleasant, there's no looming apocalypse, planned or otherwise, and even the demons here seem to be, if not civil, at least tolerable.

Probably the other shoe will drop before long, but until then he's going to try to enjoy himself.

Hence the search for the bar he hears is around somewhere. He circles through streets, looking over houses, buildings, and...hmm. Rubble. That's a little worrisome. But not too far off he finds what he was looking for, and slips curiously through the doors.

Comments

[shesamarshmallow]

"Anything that looks like food or looks interesting. Any skeletons you see can be left where they lie, as a warning to other things looking to die up there."

She settles into a seat at the table and props her chin in a hand as she thinks it over. "The food situation is bad, from what I can tell. It used to restock itself, but when it stopped, Carter, the woman who runs SHIELD, had all of the food stolen by one of her minions or something, and then the self-appointed mayor stole it from her. But it's still under lock and key. I haven't even been able to find the rest of the food, so I don't know if the mayor's rationing everything properly or not.

"Carter and the mayor, Stane, have had the closest things to governments here. Stane is still going strong, but obviously no one voted for him. And funny thing - people have seen the scientists. Once on someone's communicator when they were getting kidnapped, and once with a camera. So they're out there, they're just shifty little bastards."

She looks at the camera on the ceiling. The scientists couldn't hide from her forever, after all.

[tryingitall]

He doesn't need the chair to reach, but he'll get a clearer look by standing on it, so he steps up to look for skeletons. There's dust and dead bugs, but nothing too hideous, and he's quick to start poking around. "There's some biscuit mix in a sealed tin. That ought to be all right..."

He listens with a frown. "It's never a good sign when someone who isn't technically military declares martial law, is it? What did the scientists look like?"

He sets the biscuit mix on the countertop, followed by a can of something with a label so faded it's hard to tell whether it's tuna or salmon or potted meat.

[shesamarshmallow]

"Oooooh, yes. Biscuits. Those sound delicious." She limps over to the counter and picks up the mix, though the can that follows it is merely pushed back against the wall with a hesitant finger. Maybe she'll look into that one later.

"Yeah, I'm still trying to figure out what the deal is there. I'd rather look into Stane myself. Carter has guns. Did you hear about the escape attempt? If that's her world's version of planning, I'm kind of glad that I'm from mine."

[tryingitall]

Digging a bit deeper, he comes up with baking powder and three cans of baked beans. Nourishing, perhaps, but maybe no so tasty. He sets these down, too, and hops lightly back to the floor. "As long as we're chatting, I don't mind helping you bake, if you'd like."

And an eyebrow goes up. "No, I heard no such thing. Do tell? I take it it went badly, given that everyone's still here."

[shesamarshmallow]

"As long as we're chatting, I don't mind making use of you." She moves around the kitchen, retrieving pans and mixing bowls and measuring cups from beneath the counter. "Know any good milk substitutes?"

She's looking thoughtfully between the fridge and the sink - water wouldn't do, would it? Except for how it might have to - when she slowly rouses herself enough to answer his request. "It went really badly. Nobody died, but a lot of people got really hurt, and they had to retreat. There were metal bears or something. I wasn't there, because I wasn't that much of an idiot, but a bunch of people I know who actually have some degree of fighting skill - not Bruce Lee, but maybe Chuck Norris sidekick? - they went in and almost died. And obviously, we're still here."

Mixing bowl, mixing bowl. Whatever will Veronica fill you with? "I didn't see any overall strategy, either. Near as I can tell, she just told everybody to run in one direction and hope for the best." She glances at Balthazar. "But I'm not Patton. You know anything about military stuff? Like why she would have done that instead of, oh, I don't know, anything else?"

[tryingitall]

"Unless you have powdered milk or soymilk somewhere, I suspect you'll have to just use water and hope for the best." He moves out of her way while she gets things, but he's happy to help if and when he's told what to do.

"If you do have powdered milk, you just want to hydrate it and stir it up first." He leans against the wall, frowning. "I was more of a foot solder than a strategist, but I admit that doesn't sound like a way to win a fight. More of a distraction while something else goes on."

Angelic strategy is different, of course. They can attack from above, as well as front, back, and both sides. He makes a mental note to ask Anna about this attack when he gets a chance. Or Castiel. "Metal bears sounds intriguing, though."

[shesamarshmallow]

"Yeah, we are not going to be that lucky. Powdered milk went the way of the dodo a while ago." She jerks her thumb to the side and makes a raspberry sound, but though the gestures are sharp enough, her thoughts are distant. Could Carter really have meant it as a ploy? That would be almost clever.

Veronica hates it when she people she hates are clever.

"So... foot soldier. What kind of fighting did you see? Where you a sergeant? A major foot soldier? Should I start saluting you whenever you come or go?"

[tryingitall]

"And I assume there are no friendly dairy cows in town to visit? That's going to be awkward before long." He supposes he could beg Gabriel to whip up a few cases of powdered milk and egg if it becomes essential. Maybe make a show of finding it somewhere.

That's a concern for later, though. Much later.

"Please don't salute. Ever." Eyeroll. "Too much fighting, that's the kind I saw. Primarily I was in charge of keeping equipment. I was a lieutenant, I suppose."

[shesamarshmallow]

"Are you okay with one-finger salutes? Because I'm starting to feel like you're attempting to restrict my freedom of expression. Not that I'd- you know. Thanks for your work?" Wow. Somehow, she pictured this going differently in her head.

"Sorry. I don't know many soldier-types. Assholes, though. I've met assholes. My fair share and then some. If you're not like them, I'd rather have lieutenants."

Okay, Veronica, time to shut up and concentrate on baking. Try to get them to bake upright this time. None of that a-little-to-the-left nonsense.

Baking with water. This'll be fun.

[tryingitall]

Blinkblink. He's not sure if that's a joke or a genuinely hostile expression out of nowhere, but by the end of the sentence he concludes it's more or less the former and laughs, quietly but wholeheartedly.

"You can flip me the bird any time you feel so inclined. It wouldn't be the first time and it won't be the last. And I'm afraid I can't promise you I'm not an asshole. You'll have to decide for yourself."