13th Hat

[busy_fists]

[Action; wherever Mayfield sells guns]

[Dad can be found at the gun shop making some preparations during the afternoon.  Which is to say, he's in there with an absolutely ludicrous amount of money to buy an equally ludicrous number of firearms.]

Thought it'd be nice to take the family on a camping trip for the long holiday weekend.  I hear there's bears and wolves out there, so the way I see it, you can never be too careful.  I'm not about to let anything hurt my family or ruin this trip for the kids, after all.

[He gives a pleasant smile to the drone shopkeeper as he lays down a rather thick wad of bills on the counter.  Afterward, he walks around the shop picking out firearms of various calibers - handguns, rifles, and everything in between - and captchaloguing them in his wallet sylladex.]

[Action; gas station]

[Later in the day, Dad drives up to the gas station on the highway outside town in a rather flashy-looking red convertible.  After giving a customary friendly smile and a wave to the attendant, he unloads five gasoline cans from the back seat and starts filling them up one by one before making sure the car's full too.]

The wife and I are taking a little trip this weekend.  Just the two of us and the wide open road.  You never know what'll happen out there, so I like to be prepared.  What do I owe you for this?

[Again, he takes out a sizeable wad of bills from his pocket to pay for all of that gas before turning around and captchaloguing the canisters like he did with all of the guns earlier.]

Keep the change, and enjoy your holiday, all right?

Comments

gun place

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Steve is also looking through the guns, and he turns to look at the other guy, who he's assuming is not a drone. ]

I think you'll want a medium or big bore rifle, one that reloads fast. Or a magnum revolver.

[busy_fists]

You sound like you know your stuff, so I'll take your word for it. Honestly, they're mostly for my wife.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Oh. To fight off the bears?

Has she fired a gun before?

[busy_fists]

Well, for all the drones know, anyway.

[CONSPIRATORIAL NUDGE]

And yeah, she definitely knows her way around her firearms.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Ah. Well, he assumes he's here for the same reason then. ]

There are smaller animals around here too. Bears are just big, so you'd need lots of firepower.

I'm getting a pistol, myself. It won't take down your bear unless you're a good shot and lucky, but it'll be better for anything that comes in packs, since you'd only get two or three shots out of your rifle.

What day are you going camping?

[busy_fists]

Right. It's the packs I'm a little more worried about. I thought it would be a nice neighborly gesture to have enough firepower on hand for the other campers who didn't think to prepare that much. As for the day... well, I was thinking the last day of the season would be nice.

[At this point, it's pretty clear what they're talking about, but Dad's actually kind of having fun hiding it behind this thin layer of metaphor.]

whoops i don't know how guns work >(

[pursuitofcappiness]

I think I'll be going about halfway through.

[ OKAY WELL he's going to walk around and see what else is good and lo and behold I should have paid more attention to the guns in Captain America because there were a lot and DISREGARD WHAT HE SAID EARLIER he's just going to pull a couple firearms off the wall

And then explain how they work. Properly. ]

That makes two of us

[busy_fists]

Good. I guess I'll get a few of these too, then.

Re: That makes two of us

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ He nods and then selects a couple guns ]

How many are you equipping?

[busy_fists]

I was thinking twenty or so.

[pursuitofcappiness]

--Twenty.

Wow.

And everyone going, they're not trained? To shoot bears, I mean.

[busy_fists]

I'm not sure, really. But you know the Scouts' motto: Be Prepared.

[pursuitofcappiness]

I do.

What's your budget look like?

[busy_fists]

Money's not a problem.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ Nods, grabs a couple guns off the shelf to go over the pros and cons with ]

Me, I'm going with these.

[ Pulls down a rifle, a submachine gun, and two handguns. He's only outfitting two. ]

[busy_fists]

Looks like you're pretty well set. Good luck out there.

[Dad finishes turning the last few guns and ammunition boxes he's buying into cards, putting them securely into his wallet before extending a hand for a shake.]

Joe Egbert.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Steve Rogers.

[ He shakes Joe's hand. ]

Nice to meet you.

I'd like to talk to you, when I get back from my trip. Maybe I'll have some tips for yours.

[busy_fists]

Pleased to meet you, Steve. Sounds good. You'll have to join us for drinks sometime.

[pursuitofcappiness]

[ He reaches into his pocket for a little notepad and a pen ]

Here's my number. Call me on Wednesday?

[busy_fists]

Will do. Good luck in there.

[pursuitofcappiness]

Thanks. You too, Joe.

outside the gun shop.

[nurture]

[Trisha saw Dad on his way into the gun shop, and she thought she would wait outside for him in order to say hello. seeing him in the process of getting all that weaponry, though... and she's looking a little worried for him by the time he makes his way out.]

Mr. Egbert?

[busy_fists]

[He's cheerfully striding out of the shop with his hands in his pockets after having put his wallet away again. Those guns are in the safest place they'll ever be.]

Trisha! How are you doing?

[nurture]

I'm just fine!

[she wonders if this is because of things becoming stranger in town again... is he preparing?]

Are you doing alright?

[busy_fists]

Never better. Just picking up some supplies.

[nurture]

Those are very interesting... supplies!

[not that she's one to judge and all, but. ...yup.]

[busy_fists]

Well, I like to be prepared. You never know what's going to happen.

[nurture]

You must be worried because of the drones, too...

[busy_fists]

And that letter.

[nurture]

What do you plan to do, Mr. Egbert?

[busy_fists]

I can't just let something like this go. There's probably going to be a lot of people who need help, and lots of scared kids in over their heads. So I'm going to make sure they're safe.

[nurture]

[she can relate to his line of thinking, and her expression softens.]

Is there any way I can help?

[busy_fists]

Just make sure those boys of yours stay safe and healthy. And if you let me know what they look like, and I see them in there, I'll keep an eye on them for you too.

[nurture]

[what they look like...

she pauses, before she's reaching into the pocket of her apron (look Moms carry a lot on hand all the time, okay).]

Alphonse is too hard to miss-- he [...] wears a very large suit of armor, Mr. Egbert. But Ed looks like this, if it helps?

[she has some pictures of her son, of course. ones taken from the portraits in his house this time around.

the only one she has of their real family portrait has her boys as toddlers, and that really won't help, hm.]

[busy_fists]

Hmmm... all right. I'll keep an eye out for them if they happen to end up in the same place.

[He nods, giving a reassuring smile.]

[nurture]

Thank you...

If there's anything I can do in return...?

[busy_fists]

You can join us for dinner and drinks when we come back safely. It'll be like a little celebration. Bring your boys, too.

[nurture]

['when we come back safely.' that's right; they definitely will, won't they?]

I'll be looking forward to it. Tell your wife I said hello, alright? [she won't keep him any longer.]

[busy_fists]

I will. Take care, Trisha.