The Greater (Drunken) Good

[notalldead]

It's been some time since Jesse's had his own question for the Nexus. Maybe he's been avoiding it until the last vestiges of Reynard's winter have passed. That whole ordeal didn't do so well by him, after all.

Or maybe Jesse's just been busy? Busy drinking, apparently. He swaggers into the Nexus, a half-finished bottle of Jack Daniels held loosely by the neck in one dangling hand. Once he's found a good enough sofa to sit upon, the zed flops himself down like a ragdoll.

"What's the-..."

He pauses, looking like he's trying to stifle a burp. His eyes aren't really focusing properly. His cowboy hat is a little askew on his head.

"What's the worst thing y'all ever done. Ever done fer the-...Y'know, fer the greater good n' all that shit. Y'ever done somethin' real bad even if it were fer a good cause? Y'ever-...? Yeah. S'all."

He's drunk as hell.

Comments

[potatolion]

Her silvery eyes watched with amusement, the corner of her lips pulling into a grin. She probably shouldn't be amused at how deliriously drunk this man was; But...It was sort of funny to watch him and listen to his funny speech. She let out a snicker before giving a hearty laughter as he caught his language, she calmed herself down to listen up. Nodding along to what he said. "This one understands. As a leader, one must do difficult things." She looked to his hat that was slightly off-kilter and she reached out to fix it with a bit of a smirk. "May this one try?" She asks and motions to the Jack Daniels. Sure, she had water but...Alcohol was calling her name more loudly.

[notalldead]

"Huh? Oh, yeah! Yeah, abso-fuck-...lutely. Absolutely." If he didn't finish the word, it doesn't count as a cuss. He gladly hands over the bottle, a bit wobbly in the motion, but plenty eager to share! Drinking is more fun when you're doing it with others anyhow. They say if you do it alone, you're an alcoholic. And this moment of sharing should cancel out the past several hours he was alone in his room doing just that! Logic.

[potatolion]

Kasa grins enthusiastically and takes a hold of the bottle. It was light, he probably went through most of it and some more before he arrived her. She tilted her head back and took a long savoring sip before returning it to the zed with a thankful grin. "Wado. Thank you, Uditahv." She looks to Jesse who is sprawled out over most of the length of the couch.

Huh...Why not join the party. She lays herself down, letting her feet dangle off the arm of the couch and her head resting by his. She tilts her head to look towards Jesse, trying to extend her hand towards him at the odd angle to shake his hand. "Also, this one is Kasa. What is Uditahv's name?"

[notalldead]

He laughs at her thanks, mainly because it just sounds like babbling to him. She's probably saying something but he's too drunk to follow. It doesn't even occur to his sloshed brain that it wasn't english.

And then-...Oh. Hey. Whoa. "Gettin' a lil' cozy there, huh?" He smiles nervously, the expression lopsided and wobbly. Okay, she might not be human, but she's definitely living. He can feel her body heat, after all. And someone among the living getting this willingly close to UNliving? Even if he's completely, hugely smashed, this still sets off his usual self-imposed barriers. Don't touch the living, they don't like it!

This has manifested this whole time at him staring owlishly at Kasa, sometimes blinking, mostly looking surprised.

[potatolion]

She rests her hands back on her stomach lazily, not receiving a hand shake. He gave no name for her to call him by either. Looks like Uditahv will be her name for him. Or maybe Masaw? That's a fitting name too...She'd decide on it later.

While this man may be undead, she respected the fact that he wasn't trying to bite into her like the usual variety. He wasn't showing it now from being under the influence, but the unnamed dead man had some form of intelligence. That was enough for her to treat him as her own unless he does something that makes her second guess herself.

Her ear twitched somewhat at how his voice sounded louder from being closer. She closed her eyes, ignoring the strong stench of alcohol in the air and gave a grinning-smirk. “Might as well, yes?” She responded casually to his question. Hearing the nervousness in his voice.

Silence. The drunk suddenly wasn't very talkative and she peaked over at him. He stared at her with wide, surprised eyes. Glassy, pale and white from being...Well...Dead. She laughed a bit at his expression. “Uditahv is curious to this one being cozy, yes?” She asked for confirmation. She scratched at the faded scar that ran diagonally across her forehead as she thought of how to explain herself. “Well. This one respects Uditahv for not attempting to eat this one like Undead she has met in past. Glad she does not have to stab pool que through you skull. Guess this his her way of showing thanks.” She explains with a smirk. Remembering her first run in with the hungry Undead.

In a nutshell; The creature stumbled into the tavern and tried to make a meal of her. She took a billiard cue to its head and dragged it into the fire to finish the job.

Good times.

[notalldead]

"Aw, heck." He grimaces at the pointing out of the scar and the story that came with it. "Zed. Real zed. We're-... I'm! I'm Rotten. I ain't like that. I'm just, uh. I'm just a guy with a disease, right? I'm dead like the zed an' all, but I can still, uh. Y'know. Talk. An'-...An', an' think." And drink. Boy, can he drink. He's so thankful for that still. There's a few back in his basecamp who get nothing from it, their systems having fouled up enough inside that it doesn't intoxicate them any longer.

"Sorry y'all got messed up." Why does he feel the need to apologize for the actions of a mindless zombie? He just does. It's always better to be apologetic and sympathetic towards the living for their struggles with the zed he looks like. Leaves a good impression.

[potatolion]

Kasa nodded silently, listening carefully as he explained the difference between a Zed and a Rotten. More than thankful for the explanation. She was sure that he must've had run ins with people who didn't know there was a difference and may have tried to cut him down because of that.

She couldn't help but grin at his apology. "Uditahv does not need to apologize for event that is not his doing. But this one does appreciate thought." She said with a chuckle. At this close of an angle, along with the faded scar that was on her forehead, there was a much more noticeable one that ran horizontally across the left side of her neck; And maybe even evidence of more scars on her shoulder that disappeared farther under her shirt.

"So Uditahv has said that he is leader? What does he do with his group?" She asked, tilting her head to face him somewhat as they spoke. It was polite to face the person you were speaking to after all.

[notalldead]

"Uh. I'm not, uh. Not bragging! I ain't-...I ain't important. Or nothin'. Uhhhh. I'm just a gang leader. Not like-! Not like gang gang." A pause, as if keeping quiet for a bit will keep him from being caught in a lie. But then he outs himself anyway in a sigh. "Okay, yeah, like a gang. But the whole-...Entire whole west coast got 'em. S'all we got left to-to-to...to keep people safe 'n build communities again! An' ain't like no gang's gonna take in a zed who can talk so, uh."

A shrug and a look down at his bottle, wondering if and how he can still drink from it while being flopped like this. "Ssssso I made a gang."

[potatolion]

Kasa continued to stare. Slowly dissecting his words and translating them in her mind so she could understand. Remaining oddly quiet even after he finished speaking before nodded to him. "This one understands. So, Uditahv made gang for protection." She tried to reason. Tilting her stare back to eye the bottle of Jack Daniels; That was some good stuff. Better than the cheap tavern ale she was used to buying. "So they are many 'Zeeds' like you self? Who can speak and think and...eh...stuff." She asked curiously and accidently mispronouncing Zed. But she was completely interested and somewhat amazed in the fact that she was having a conversation with a talking corpse. Something she didn't expect her day to turn towards.

[notalldead]

"Zed. Zed. Watch my mouth. Zed." He's not being smarmy, he's actually (drunkenly) trying to be helpful in teaching proper pronunciation to this friendly Korean woman. "An' uh...Naw. Naw. Not a whole buncha us. Just a lil over uhhh. I think 20? Last I checked. One died here in the Nexus! Demons. Whole buncha demons showed up and jus'-...Y'know, fucked shit up, like demons do. Poor Jimbo, got burned up to a crisp by 'em. But we got a memorial now here in the Nexus that we, uh, we Rotten take care of. I could show it to y'all."

He completely lost track of the subject halfway through there.

[potatolion]

Kasa blinked with interest as the was given language lessons by the undead. Listening to the way he pronounced the word and watching the shape his mouth made when he did. She mumbled under her breath as she tried to mimic the sounds. "Zeed... Zid... Zied... Zed." She perked up as she got it, her eyes lighting up excitedly. "Zed!" She repeats again in triumph with a wide grin to match.

Soon the Zed continued to drunkenly speak on. Telling her about the size of his group and how he actually lost one recently to demons. Causing Kasa to frown somewhat with sympathy.

But hearing how they had a monument dedicated to the dead Zed helped her smile return, albeit a solemn one. "This one would be happy to pay her respects to the memorial of Uditahv's friend." She paused in thought. It sounder like this memorial was a big thing for the Zed, and understandably so. "Hey, if Uditahv ever need help taking care of monument. Let this one know. She has much free time after she hunts in the Wilds, she would be honored to lend hand, yes." She offered a good natured grin to the walkin-talkin corpse. He seemed to be a pretty good guy, even when hammered. It only seemed right to give him her respect.

[notalldead]

"Aw, shoot. That's-...That's right kind of y'all. Ain't nothin', uh, y'know. Uh. Stoppin' y'all if yer out in the woods an' you grab a handful o' flowers. Drop 'em off. Shoot, what do y'all even hunt in there? I ain't ever gone. Prolly all weird shhhhtuff." Someone remembered too late that he's got a rule about cussing in front of women! "Everythin's weird here. In the Nexus."

[potatolion]

Kasa smiled warmly and nodded. Glad to see that the Zed seemed to appreciate her offer. And she was more than happy to help with the monument! "This one will definitely bring in wild flowers for Uditahv's gangs' monument."

She paused to listen to the second half of his question, she grinned, happy to answer the Zed's questions. "This one mostly hunts for food. But she uses as much of animal for supplies, clothes, and weapons. This one has been trying to find bear for its pelt. This one can be scary as wolf..." She says as she motions to the pelt she wore as a cape, "But this one can really show her skills as yonva! Eh...Bear." She corrects herself with a smirk. Going off on a tangent to gush over her favorite pelt. "Oh, but eh...Yes. Wilds do have some odd things. This one tries to focus on game she is familiar with. "

[notalldead]

"Shoot, does that-...Does that work? Huntin'? There's the whole dang, the-...Anti-Violence! Got that thing what doesn't let us hurt one another. But maybe it, like, it...Uh. It realizes yer huntin' fer survival or not meanin' no real harm. Ain't doin' it fer sport or cuz yer mean. Just gotta eat like everyone else..."

His expression goes blank for several seconds, perhaps reminded of something at the mention of needing to eat. And then he takes several more seconds to navigate the bottle to his lips and tilts back a swig with enough finesse that he doesn't just dump it onto his face.

"Shit ain't failsafe, though. The Nexus and the field an' shit, I mean. Stuff. Nexus and stuff. I mean, demons somehow got through it. Hurt a whoooole buncha people. Killed some too. So don't-..." Hiccup. "Don't ever take it fer granted, okay. Ain't always gonna be around to keep y'all safe."

[potatolion]

Kasa blinks with in confusion. Anti-Violence field? She hadn't tried to hurt someone for the sake of violence or blood lust, so she wouldn't know. She nods in agreement with the undead man. "Perhaps; This one is thankful she can hunt though. Makes getting food more easy." She said while he paused to think and sip from his bottle. She kicked her lips, wishing for another drink. Instead of bothering him for another sip of his Jack Daniels, she took out her canteen of water and took a sip, capping the canteen and putting it into her bag.

She nodded in understanding when he said the field wasn't full proof. Telling a quick summery of the demons that attacked him and killed one of his gang members.

Poor Uditahv.

She gave him a small, warm grin. "This one will be sure to be on guard. In case anything strange happens...Hey Uditahv?" She called to him and tiled her head to look at him better. "Could this one pay visit to gang one day? Seem like he has interesting group."

[notalldead]

"Huh? I mean...Yeah, maybe I could swing that fer you. My gang's kinda-...Shoot, what's the-...Cagey. That's it. Livin' folk. Livin' folk bein' in our turf is always kinda." He rocks a hand back and forth, making a small 'ehh' noise. Kinda iffy! "But they know Nexus folk, they're good. They're real good. Always kin trust a Nexus person. Well, I mean not ALL o' 'em. Ain't no goddamn demon I'm gonna trust, sure as shootin'. But, I mean. Blaze is good. Harrowheart's good. Jim's real good too! Whole lotta good."

[potatolion]

Kasa nodded a bit as he said that trying to pull that would be iffy. She reached to give his cowboy-hatted head a bit of a pat. "If it is too much trouble, do not worry about, yes." She said with a bit of a chuckle then rested her hand back on her stomach.

She listened closely as went over who to trust, and then kinda backpedaled on that statement. She made note of the names that he listed. Blaze, Harrowheart, and Jim. Names she would have to keep an ear out for the future. "Hm...This one has not been here very long. But she has met eh...Steve Rogers, Jesiah, and very few others...Hm...This one should probably visit city more." She concludes with a bit of a laugh.

[notalldead]

"Yeah! Yeah, talk to all kindsa folks if y'can. That's-That's like...That's the whole charm of this place, right? Talkin'. Learnin'. Seein' all kindsa people..." He reaches up and pulls down his hat, nudging the brim of it over his eyes.

"Findin' the Nexus is the best thing s'ever happened to us."

[potatolion]

Kasa nodded, giving a small hum of acknowledgement. He did have a point, it was nice to be in a place where one could live in relative safety. And learning of all the strange and interesting people that are dropped into this place was fun. Never would she imagine she'd be laying on a couch next to a drunk undead man, chatting about things. Thinking about this caused her to chuckle to herself.

"Yeah. This place is good. This one has never felt so...Relaxed." She said, trying to find the right words. She peaked over to him as he dipped his hat over his eyes and smiled somewhat. "Does Uditahv ever feel tired?"

[notalldead]

"Oh yeah. I feel pretty fuc-...uh, dang tired right now, even. I mean, I ain't, uh, I ain't gotta sleep, but I still do it sometimes anyway. Gotta pass th' time. Or sometimes y'just...Y'just wanna turn off fer a bit. Not think fer a bit."

He's quiet for a long time, not even breathing. Why would he? He doesn't have to and he's not speaking right now. And being drunk makes Jesse forget to keep up the illusions he does to endear him to the living.

"...Maybe I should prolly do that. Go sleep. Shit. What time is it even..." As if time matters in the Nexus or would be relative to his home world.

[potatolion]

"Mm...Mhmm. This one is getting tired too. Well. This one will let Uditahv get his rest." She sits herself up and moves so she's standing. She looks down to the sprawled zombie. Right. He was drunk. "Uh...Does Uditahv need this one to walk with him? Sounds like he has drank much." She offered to walk her new found buddy towards his home. Didn't want him getting into some potential trouble on the way home.

[notalldead]

"Nnnnn...Naw. I'm jus' gonna-...Just gonna lay here a sec, I think. Catch m'breath." That he doesn't need. "I'll find m'way home. Always do." He grins lopsidedly from under his pulled-down hat. "But thanks. Yer real nice, Miz Korean Lady."

[potatolion]

She laughs warmly as he called her Miss Korean Lady. She didn't even know what that was! She calmed her laughter into a snicker before responding. "This one is not Korean...What ever that is. This one is a Skin-Walker. And she is glad to help." She reached over to pat his hat in good-bye. "Take it easily, Uditahv. Tare care of self." Hopefully he'd find peace with what ever bothered him and caused him to drink till his rotting teeth were floating.

With that she walked off, heading back to the Wilds.