Blackout, House 11

[tryingitall]

Who: Balthazar, Rat and Open!
What: Lights are out. They should build a pillowfort and tell scary stories, right?
When: Day 101
Where: House 11, with possible visits around town by Balthazar, should anyone want that.


All right, so the blackout is, in itself, not terribly alarming. Inconvenient, yes, but provided the weather stays tolerably warm and nothing horrible comes out of the woods to kill them, it's just annoying.

At least in the short term. In the long term, water will need to be boiled and distilled, food storage will have to be tweaked, etc. Balthazar's hoping it won't come to that. Right now, it seems best to treat this as temporary.

On the second day after the lights go out, he's taken the initiative to snag some supplies from the store and junkpiles around town and created a couple makeshift light sources: three candles and an oil lamp in an empty wine bottle. The dim glow is visible from outside the house, a small circle of golden flames. Combine it with a little of the moonshine he's gotten from Ellen and it's almost festive, in a rustic sort of way.

Comments

[tryingitall]

"No one's sick or starving yet. Until that happens, or until something presents itself than I might be able to fix, I figure it's best to stay positive."

He nabs a cup off the table, pours it half-full of moonshine, then adds water from another glass. "This is the first batch. It's extremely powerful, otherwise I wouldn't dilute your drink. If it's too strong still, there's some honey in the kitchen."

He sighs. "You know what would make it better is if I could get Loki to make us some marshmallows to toast."

[godsprophet]

Speaking of Chuck, hi, hello, here he is.

Chuck keeps to himself, most times. Usually it's never been a problem, but now, with the power gone, it gets dark. And perhaps that's a bit stating the obvious, but sitting in the attic with no lights just feels like a bad idea.

And so, when it gets dark enough, he makes his way down stairs to find Balthazar and, he supposes, the friend Balthazar invited over. "Oh, you found candles."

Wait, did he hear something about s'mores?

[bluesrat]

"Hey." Balthazar's friend, the lanky, shabby, middle-aged guy with the guitar, looks up and gives a friendly smile. He's got the cup of dubious booze in his hand by then, but he hasn't tasted it yet, made wary by the angel's warning. "Candles, music, drinks, it's practically a party."

He hasn't seen much of Chuck, even though he's couch-surfing in the same house, now, so he's making even more than his usual effort to be inviting.

[tryingitall]

Pitch dark attics are creepy, no doubt. The angel smiles and nods in greeting at Chuck. "I nicked a few from the general store. The lamp is just cooking oil. I don't know how long it'll burn, but it's all right for now. D'you want a drink, Chuck?"

As an afterthought, he adds: "Oh! And this is Rat. Er...Markus Rathbone. Rat, this is Chuck Shurley. He lives in the attic." There's a hint of mischief in that introduction.

[godsprophet]

Chuck gives a small smile at Rat. He's not exactly... the most social person on the planet, but Rat is a friend of Balthazar's, so that means he can't be all bad. "Hey. It's, uh, nice to meet you. Heard you were staying over for a while."

And he's fine with it, really. Gabriel and Balthazar aren't bad roommates, but well.... Gabriel. So, it's nice having someone else play buffer for a while.

He nods in response to Balthazar's question. "Yeah, sure, I'd love a drink."

[bluesrat]

"Rat is fine." He shrugs. "Or Markus. Balthazar wouldn't take no for an answer, but I'll try to keep out of the way." He smiles, takes a sip of his drink at last, and pauses a moment while his eyes water slightly. It's been a while since he's had anything this strong. Beer is cheaper, and most days just getting food is expensive enough.

"...a strong drink. Where did you get this stuff from, Balthazar?"

[tryingitall]

"I would take no for an answer if it were followed by a sensible reason, but being shy doesn't count." Balthazar makes a face at him, then stifles a laugh at the reaction to the drink.

"Ellen made it. I'm trying to use it sparingly. Now you see why I watered it down. Shall I fetch the honey?" He rises, then pauses to pour Chuck a drink of similarly blended liquor and water, placing it in front of him cheerfully. "Mazel tov."

[godsprophet]

Chuck isn't sure what may or may not have happened to leave Rat without a place to stay, but he does know one thing for certain. "Well, I mean, we have the space, right?" And he doesn't just mean now that Anna's gone. Living in a house with angels who don't eat or sleep left the house empty in a number of different ways.

"Thanks," Chuck takes the glass that Balthazar poured for him, taking a drink. Even with Rat and Balthazar mentioning it was strong, it was still stronger than he expected it to be. "Oh, wow. Yeah, uh, Ellen certainly knows what she's doing, I'll give her that."

[bluesrat]

Rat has been without a place to stay for years, long enough that looking for one has dropped off his priority list a long time ago. "Well, if I do get in the way, let me know?"

He watches Chuck drink, and gives a rueful smile. "Sorry Balthazar, I guess my stomach isn't what it used to be. Honey, or even a little more water might help..." He assumes Chuck could benefit from having his diluted, too, but he'll take the blame for it if he can.

[tryingitall]

"Exactly!" Balthazar nods at Chuck and jogs off to the kitchen, returning with a jar of honey, a handful of mint leaves, and a pitcher of water.

"Just don't make yourselves sick. Raphael would probably blame me." But he's not all that worried about it, judging from the way he pushes the bottle across the table so they can reach. "Crush up a sprig of mint in it, too. It's like a...really strong julep."

[godsprophet]

Chuck gives a nod at Rat. "Yeah, no, definitely." Although, even if Rat did happen to get in the way, Chuck doesn't think he would actually complain. Besides, it was nice being able to converse with someone who was human. "But, uh, I'm sure you'll be fine."

He quirks up his lips in a bit of a smile. "It wouldn't be the first time." Nevertheless, he reaches for the honey anyways, putting a bit of it into his drink.

[bluesrat]

"Well, I... play guitar, and sing. Not everybody is a music lover, so I can keep that outside the house, if it's a problem?" He's trying to be the most polite house guest he knows how to be, because just the few nights he's already had on the couch were a slice of Heaven.

Balthazar he's more relaxed with, and he gives the angel a look that's a mix of skepticism and amusement, but adds to his drink as suggested and takes a sip. Julep. Sure. After it's been mixed with moonshine and a little turpentine, possibly. "...Not so much, really. Not bad, though."

[tryingitall]

"Loki says no campfire songs. Stick with the blues, though, and I'm sure he'll deal." Balthazar smiles at Rat, then laughs at his skepticism. "I know I've had worse."

Turning to Chuck, he asks, "Have you ever written lyrics? You two could collaborate." It's probably a long shot, he figures, but if it'll help them make friends...

[godsprophet]

Chuck shakes his head. "No, I... back home, I used to listen to music when I wrote. So that shouldn't be a problem."

Chuck considers Balthazar's question for a moment before he shakes his head. "Song lyrics? No, I was never any good at poetry." And then he turns to Rat. "You write your own songs?"

[bluesrat]

"Sometimes." Rat is modest. "I've written some, and I still play some the other guys in the band wrote, but I play a variety... but no campfire songs, got it." He tips his hat to Balthazar with a grin.

"You ever want inspiration, I'd be happy to help. What do you write?"

[tryingitall]

"I keep trying to think of requests, but all my favorites are from the 1910s or well past your time," he tells Rat with a shrug, then refocuses on Chuck.

"Maybe he could write something based on your novels," he suggests with a look of perfect innocence. "Just change the Winchester name to something else..."

Yeah, Sam and Dean would love that.

[godsprophet]

Yeah, Chuck sees that look of so-called perfect innocence and raises you a pair of rolled eyes. "Yeah, no, uh. Sam threatened to shoot me if I published any more books. I... I don't think a song would be any better."

He turns his attention back to Rat. "It's, uh..." No, he's answered this question already before, what did he say? "...paranormal fiction?"

[bluesrat]

"...I'm sensing there's a long story behind this..." He blinks, but smiles. "I've never read any, but I'd be curious to." He's offering to read Chuck's books because he thinks it's the polite thing to do, but he's not even sure what paranormal fiction is.

[tryingitall]

Balthazar grins at Chuck, knowing he's being an ass. "Sam wouldn't shoot you. Not unless something went dreadfully wrong with him mentally." Like losing his soul again. But he's not sure Chuck knows about that.

He falls silent, letting the other two chat.