Wellspring Arms & Meditation Center, Saturday

[luckywithjacks]

Faraday officially did not understand anything about this place.

He'd managed to glean that today was New Year's Eve, which meant that after arriving in the future, and barely beginning to get accustomed to that fact, it was about to be even more the future, which seemed downright rude of time somehow. He'd decided to refill his ammunition pouch, as being able to shoot his problems always making him feel better about life and all, and upon tracking down a place he could do that, when he'd introduced himself the guy behind the counter had handed him the keys and told him the place was all his, then left.

He was reasonably sure there had been some grievous mistake made here (For one thing, he didn't know what a meditation was. Maybe he should ask Goody.), but there was a fair amount of cash in the safe he suddenly had access to, an unseemly amount of guns in inventory, and a dusty and disused apartment that was a damn sight better than sleeping on the beach in winter upstairs, so he was going to pretend he was supposed to be here until someone called him on it.

Wellspring Arms is open.

Comments

[wefindintheashes]

Well, Goody on the other hand was thinking that he was going to be paid a normal school teacher's salary. Which. You know. 19th Century.

So, he was mournfully giving serious thought to selling his rifle so he would still have a hotel room.

He was going to be soooo surprised when he actually got paid.

But that was what brought him to the oddly named place in order to get a price for his rifle. Which he could always buy back later. And did not realize was an antique that would probably get him a lot of money. But we digress!

"...Faraday?"

[luckywithjacks]

He was an unlikely shopkeep, was he not?

"Goody! Some guy just gave me this place!" This was said in distinct tones of, 'The hell?'

[wefindintheashes]

"Did you have your gun drawn?" It was a legitimate question here.

[luckywithjacks]

"No! He said he'd been waitin' on me. I just wanted to buy bullets, since I don't have any left after, well, you know. And now--" Faraday waved his hands around dramatically, because what the hell?

"Say, do you know what a meditation is? Because apparently this place sells it."

[wefindintheashes]

"It's like breathing slowly." Thanks, Goody. Thanks.

"And I'll be damned, they did that to me up at the school too," Goody replied, looking around the place.

[luckywithjacks]

That was really helpful. Faraday had no idea how he was supposed to sell that.

"They gave you a whole school?!"

[wefindintheashes]

"No, apparently they were expecting my arrival as a school teacher."

He could just drop a lot of five dollar words on them and flee, right?

[luckywithjacks]

"What are you gonna teach 'em, how to talk fancy?" Faraday asked. He intoned, "'Fame is a sarcophagus,'" like an asshole.

[wefindintheashes]

Goody just gave him a look that was somewhere between impressed that Faraday remembered the word and annoyed at his... everything.

Mostly just looked amused.

"Well, well. Isn't it a shame they didn't get you to teach."

[luckywithjacks]

"I could teach," Faraday said defensively.

He would have you know his mama sent him to school all the way to the seventh grade, Goody.

"Anyway, what can I do for you? You need bullets?" Faraday didn't imagine he was planning on shooting anything, what with his, uh, condition and all, but it was about the only reason he could think of for the man to be here. "I don't know where they are yet but I'm sure we got some."

[wefindintheashes]

Goody just continued to smile at him and his teaching dreams.

"I was curious about the name." He was not. He was full of shame. "No need for bullets. Seems like a nice and civilized sort of town."

[luckywithjacks]

He could sleep on Faraday's new couch if the hotel kicked him out! Faraday was generous like that.

"Oh, yeah, I don't know about the name. Wish I'd thought to ask that guy before he took off. I could've asked him what a meditation was, too."

[wefindintheashes]

Excuse you, he had his pride.

"We can find you a nice book on the subject," Goody promised him. "I'll even help you with the larger words."

[luckywithjacks]

"You'n your books," Faraday grumbled, but he sounded almost fond.

[wefindintheashes]

"The subject matter would have been more of Billy's expertise, I'm afraid," Goody replied, eyeing the strange weapons the place had for sale.

[luckywithjacks]

"He still might turn up," Faraday said, trying to be reassuring. Where was a Korean with a lot of knives to cheer up this sad sack Cajun when you needed him.

He followed Goody's gaze and admitted, "Yeah, I don't know what half of these things even do. Shoot things, I reckon, but..."

[wefindintheashes]

Possibly dead. Because the movie hated them.

"Until then, it appears we will be stuck reading up on our new professions."

[luckywithjacks]

"Reckon I gotta learn bookkeeping, too." Ugh. Math. "So, what are you teachin'?" Faraday asked, because Goody had not yet given him a sufficient answer to that question.

[wefindintheashes]

Wonder why he might have avoided that!

"Apparently they want a history lesson on the war." Which seemed like a great idea, right? THE BEST.

[luckywithjacks]

Oof.

Faraday, for once, considered his response, and rejected about three before shoving his new bottle of bourbon across the counter to Goody and saying, "Well, at least it's something you know about?"

[wefindintheashes]

Faraday was now his third favorite person. He should be lucky with that number because one and two were Billy and Sam respectively.

He pulled the stopper free to take a sip. "My teaching partner is a Yankee who went on to fight with Custer."

He was honestly trying not to laugh at this. Because it was both terrible and hilarious at the same damn time.

[luckywithjacks]

You owed him alcohol once you got your ridiculous teacher paycheck, Goody, and don't think Faraday would forget. And Goody's bestie was a Yankee who had better sense than to fight with Custer, so Faraday didn't see the problem there, except that, "I thought all of Custer's men bit it up in Montana Territory."

[wefindintheashes]

Goody would pay him back. Don't you worry, Faraday. There would be booze and attempting of the local cuisine in his future.

"Apparently this one wandered off to Japan." Weird, right?

[luckywithjacks]

"Japan?" Faraday echoed. "Where the hell is that?"

[wefindintheashes]

"Near China and Korea." As those two countries would at least hold more meaning for Faraday.

[luckywithjacks]

Faraday didn't really know where Korea was, to be honest, he only knew that Billy was most insistent it was not China. But China, he was more familiar with. "So one of Custer's men managed to wander all the way out to the Orient and then somehow landed here? That's even crazier'n us."

[wefindintheashes]

Goody knew just enough to know they all existed in relation to each other. And that Billy made him promise to never attempt to pronounce his actual name ever again.

"Aren't we the lucky ones then?"

[luckywithjacks]

I've always been lucky with one-eyed jacks.

"Something like that," Faraday muttered softly.

[wefindintheashes]

Goody felt it best to take one last sip of bourbon before giving the bottle back to him.

"I suppose we ought to celebrate your new business," he said cheerfully.

[luckywithjacks]

"We definitely oughta do that," Faraday agreed, enthusiastic as ever about alcohol. He toasted in Goody's direction with the bottle and took a drink.

Damn, that was good.

[wefindintheashes]

"At least we can agree that this is one of the good parts of the future," Goody said. "Fine bourbon."