abraxaslogs | ( open — august catchall )

Sam Wilson?

( was there another sam around here? could be but he's pretty sure that she means sam wilson. )

I know him, yeah. I met him when I first got here. He was kind of a welcome wagon even though he was bedridden.

That's him. He tries to set up everyone he can, I'm sure he can find you somethin' to pay the bills for now.

[ Julie might not be on the best terms with Sam right now -- long story -- but she won't deny all the help he tries to provide to the newly Summoned. He's one of the very few among them willing to make the connections with locals that allow for them to find work and housing. ]

The only other job that's popular with us is monster huntin', so, y'know, our options are real limited in general.

Yeah, not much of a monster hunter. Wouldn't really work with me.

( it would work but he also has no real urge to go hunting for monsters. he'll gladly hunt for other things, other people but not monsters. )

There a lot of monsters around here?

Out in the desert, sure. Pretty much everythin' out there is fuckin' terrifyin'. The city's fine though. I guess monsters are like any other kinda big animals -- they mostly stay away from humans unless they're desperate.

[ Which is not to say they aren't dangerous creatures. If anything, she's pretty sure most are much more aggressive and vicious than things like bears and snakes. But she's come to think of monsters as just large wild animals, rather than active predators of humans. Just like a bear or a panther or a buffalo, they aren't out there trying to get tangled up with people. ]

Lots of bandits too. Merchants and people travelin' pay for escorts when they go between cities.

Yeah, I'd heard a little about things like that just —

( it makes him curious but he knows that going out there alone would probably be pretty stupid. he's more than capable but one man against monsters that he's never faced before? it wouldn't go well and he'd probably end up getting yelled at. )

You've been? I know you've traveled between cities but did you go that way? Through monster...land?

[ As someone with close ties to many of the hunters, Julie does not recommend going on one's own. ]

I mean, I never saw anythin', but technically yes. When I went to Aquila, I took a wagon, and they always have escorts to be safe. And there was one other time that I was a few hours out from the city, but I had someone with me that could fight if we needed.

So, don't go alone is what you're saying.

( a smile flickers across his face. he hadn't been thinking of going anywhere but good to have it confirmed. )

It's at least a comfort to know that we can move around some. Even if there are monsters out there trying to stop you from doing anything and everything.

Yeah, I wouldn't suggest it. There's folks who'll go out there with you, if you wanna explore, but like I said, it's a desert. Mostly just sand and rocks.

[ But traveling to the other cities themselves is another story. ]

Oh, sure. We can technically go wherever we want, long as we don't cross the borders. You can hire portals to go to the other cities, but it's expensive. Wagons are cheaper. Just make sure you have a couple spare weeks -- Aquila takes about a week each way, and I think Libertas is two weeks.

That's good information to know.

( not that matt has any reason to visit the other cities save for his own curiosity but that tends to be enough for him to do what he wants to do. )

Which would you recommend if I wanted to visit one of them? Which one's better? More interesting?

[ Julie had spent her life extremely restricted in where she was able to go. Before the end of the world, she'd never been further than a few hours from her hometown. In the year or so after society collapsed, she walked across multiple states to get to Vegas, and she unironically considers that time as one of the highlights of her life.

She is very into visiting new places. ]

I suppose it depends on what you like. Aquila's a beach town, it's real relaxed and colorful and the people are super nice. I never saw the ocean before I went there. Libertas is... it reminded me a lot of Vegas, but like, with less neon. It's showy and fashionable, there's casinos but also a ton of art and museums. Not as many history and science museums like here in Cadens, their museums are all about different kinds of art. They have fancy restaurants and you can get just about anythin' you want there.

[ Which is absolutely code for "hookers and blow". ]

Huh.

( maybe aquila then. new york was a big city with a lot of that culture that she made mentioned of (and the hookers and blow too) but the beach town was a new one, something that maybe he'd like to try.

he imagines himself on the beach, feet in the sand with a suit and tie on and laughs because that's not how it goes. )

Never been to the beach before. Even trying to imagine myself there is laughable. So, maybe I'll try that and see if I can enjoy sand and water and all.

[ It takes her a second, but ] Wait, I thought New York is an island. Or like, Manhattan. How've you never been to a beach when you spent your whole life on an island?

[ She can understand not going frequently or maybe not liking it, but she can't figure out how someone could spend that much time on a small island and never make it to the beach at all. She's like, ninety percent sure that Coney Island is a big deal even for natives. ]

But like I said, I never even saw the ocean before I went to Aquila. I never went anywhere close to it back home, only Kansas and Vegas. It was pretty amazin' down there in Aquila, I love it.

Yeah, guess that's kind of an oversight on my part but —

( he shrugs. )

I don't drive and while I could take a taxi or something there, I just never really felt the need. Which, again, an oversight on my part.

( maybe it just felt strange to go there alone? he could have asked foggy or karen but again, just hadn't done it. too busy, too boring, too something. )

Did you go swimming?

[ Despite not being able to see her, Matt will probably be able to sense just how much she lights up to talk about the beach. It might come across as childish or strange, but she had never so much as seen more than a pond before she made it to Vegas and saw the Hoover dam. Which is still nothing like seeing a real lake or the ocean, neither of which she'd seen until she got to Abraxas.

It does not matter that she's in her twenties. It was still amazing. ]

Swimmin', and I saw all these little crabs and fish and stuff in the tide pools. Even just goin' and sittin' on the beach for hours was amazin'. Like, I can't believe people just live near the ocean like it's nothin'. I've never seen anythin' that went on for so long, like the edge of the world.

[ She seems to catch her own enthusiasm and peg it as slightly embarrassing. Her next words are a bit more tempered. ]

So yeah, I recommend a visit.

I like how you talk about things.

( she sounds excited about a lot of different things they've touched on and it makes it easy for him to imagine it even without hearing specific details. he smiles easily. )

I'll have to put that on my list of things to do. At the top of my list, actually, right underneath figuring out a job so I can continue to feed myself things that someone else hasn't already eaten.

( it wasn't that dire but he jokes anyway. )

[ He's sweet. Julie is also much younger than she comes off (living through a few apocalypses will do that to a girl), so she worries about alienating all the people she's met here who are older and more mature. It's pretty easy to feel childish when you're talking to established lawyers or people with kids, or... hundred year old monster hunters.

Well. ]

Don't worry too hard. There's enough of us around, with enough coin, that no one needs to go hungry or homeless. [ The Summoned are a small group, as she's mentioned, and as long as one is even remotely personable, there's usually someone to help. Besides, Julie has multiple people in her orbit who own their own businesses. Having a lawyer on hand might be useful. ] Worse come to worst, let me know, I'll make sure you're covered until you can stand on your own.

I appreciate that. I hope it doesn't come to that but if it does, I'll remember and I'll let you know.

( one of the first things he plans to do once he gets himself settled and gets more in tune with the city and what's going on is to look for something that helps him make some money. he doesn't want to completely rely on the kindness of strangers though he does appreciate it. )

And if I do have to do that, I'll be sure to repay you in the future. I promise.

Oh sweetheart, don't worry 'bout that.

[ Which is less generous than it really seems, because he is connected to Wanda, and that negates any debt he could owe her, at least for something as basic as pure survival. She's not going to let one of her best friend's romantic interests just languish on the street until he starves to death. ]

I've taken up enough of your time now, so I'll let you get back to your evenin', but if you need anythin', I live on the top floor, right above Sam's place.

[ She feels like she has a good base read on him, for the moment. Doesn't feel the need to immediately run to Wanda and warn her off. Julie stands and clearly makes to head up the stairs to go home. ]

And you really should try drivin' in the Horizon. Just to say you've done it.

I might give it a try.

( with the scraping of the chair and the way he can hear her stand, he moves to do the same, nodding as he does. )

Thank you for the conversation, I enjoyed it. I hope I'll see you around.

( and he'd definitely take her advice ot heart. )

( open — august catchall )

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