[ prp ] they love dirty laundry (america, jan)

[lizbot]

The water had been leaking down for hours before America had finally had a chance to get to her room, tired and dirty after an afternoon of helping secure windows against the storm, along with a number of other necessary tasks. It hadn't occurred to her that while the basement was sturdy as ********, it was also old. It had been literal centuries since it had last had to hold tight against the elements.

By the time she stepped down into the basement, there was a good foot of water in the hall, and it's not like her "door" did much to wold it back. With grim curses she went back up to the first floor, grabbed a few large, sturdy trash bags and collected first her clothes (wet and dirty,) sheets and blankets (same) and then the very few items she had of sentimental value. Two books (water damaged but salvageable) and a photo album (only slightly wet and hadn't that been enough of a relief to summon the sting of tears.) Everything else was replaceable without too much bother, even the HOT notes that had been such a fun hobby with Pan over the past few months could be rewritten.

Her first stop had been the first floor showers and thank goodness she'd taken to keeping a pair of clean pjs in a cubby up there for those times when she didn't have the will or patience to battle it out with the basement's nightmare bathrooms. Next stop was the laundry, and it looked like she either missed the crowd of people who found themselves in the same situation, or she was ahead of the game. Her preference was, of course, the latter.

Humming under her breath, America placed the bedding in one washer and began the task of sorting out the rest, setting the books and album out to start drying out as well. She wasn't precisely sure where she would go now, but at least she had something useful to do while she figured out a plan.

baneful

 

[Baneful]

When the rain had started Lawr had packed up his most important items from the oubliette and packed them all away. He was damn glad for his foresight in purchasing a watertight bag within a bag to hold them when he moved into the dismal basement. Unfortunately his bedding and non essential items were now completely soaked. He wandered into the room with a backpack like a hiker and the rest of his posessions in a black bin bag.

He gave America a weary look when he spotted her. "Did no one in this here facility think to buy a sub pump?"  

[lizbot]

Noting the man, familiar, Mister Cowboy, America gave him a wry smile and tipped an invisible hat in greeting. "Probably not, what with all the drains. So I take it your place got flooded too." She paused a moment to figure that out, but then remembered the dorms weren't the only place a hunter could stay. "You live in the town?"

baneful

 

[Baneful]

"Did."he corrected. "I did live in towns until this goshdarned storm blew in like a crazy bronco and set me back to square one." He sighed heavily and put down the bag, eyeing the occupied washing machines. "No idea where I'm going to call my homestead now. Dormitories maybe if they survive this here tempest."

He sat down with a clash of bangles on the bag of bedclothes giving her a curious squint. "Well if it isn't the little mouse lady, didnt recognise you without your costume. Madam mouse with no house."  

[lizbot]

Whites, colors, delicates.

The metaphor had her smiling at him, eyebrows raised, "Guess the cowboy met his match, huh?" Placing the whites in a washer, she reached up and over to slide a piece of wood paneling over, revealing an emergency stash of bleach and other laundry supplies.

America gave him a wink at the mention of the costume as she began piling in her whites. "Mice are resourceful, I'll have you know, this one in particular."  

[Baneful]

"Evidently, I'm not quite as prepared for the rigours of trail life." he shook his head glumly. "I'm getting too old for this here homeless thing, I just want to find a place to hang my hat." presumably said hat was also a casualty of the floods.

"I need to get myself a resourceful little mouse to teach this old coyote a few new tricks. " he opened the bag and took out some sodden bedsheets, setting them on one of the counters before he realised said sheets positively reeked of perfume.



It was too conspicuous to put away so he just hoped it wasn't noticeable over the smell of cleaners.

"If I'm honest I'm pretty useless at this whole housekeepin thing susie used to take care of me fore I got here."  

[lizbot]

The girl's expression softened. She'd lived in a lot of places, with a lot of really wonderful people, but finding a place that was her's, for good and always, had never ceased to fill her will a sort of longing. "Can't blame you there," America replied, voice a bit wistful as she loaded the rest of her laundry and turned her attention more fully on this odd Mister Cowboy.

Whatever sweetness her smile had held slowly stretched like taffy into something pleased and sly. With two fingers she plucked at the sheet, "Age doesn't matter as long you stay flexible." The scent came off it, heady and overdone, "Let's hope she was, though maybe teach her the trick of only using the littlest bit. The point is to draw folks in with a tease to catch the scent, not make them choke on it."

Opening a washer she poured in a cup of detergent and then started the machine, letting the water run empty for a minute, "Run it with the soap for a bit, then put your sheets in. Don't use the hot settings for bedding, either washing or dying. Easy peasy, honey. Was Susie your girl?"  

[Baneful]

"It's a dream that's hard to chase on this island." he said with a tinge of sadness. "Thought I'd found it but the towns just aren't safe yet."

At the mention of the sheets Lawr flushed bright red. "Well the nights are long and lonely here.." he said, excusing himself and clearing his throat. "I will admit I'm weak to the charms of strong willed gals going along the same wanderer's path that I am" The flustered blush gave way to a smile. "I will grant you that she could stand to use less perfume if even unfortunate bystanders can notice it."

Butch grumbled irritably.

<have a nose.>>



<>

He patted the sheet as if it was some small animal, giving America a cheeky smile. "But sometimes I don't mind tolerating a bit of inconvenience for a lonely lady."

He nodded to her advice. "Thankya. I will take note. And yeah. She was. She took care of me before I found myself out here, she'll have long since moved on I reckon. We were close, but time waits for no one, and I ain't able to go back. For her sake as much as mine. Leave anyone behind yourself? If it isn't an impertinent question."

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

She decided she liked the blush and fluster, he was a pretty little thing, not matching the silly Mister Cowboy thing at all. He was older, given, but he was soft and trim around the edges; the sort of man that made a well kept pet, and from the sound of it, that's what he was used to. With a soft, low hmmmmm, she put his sheets in the wash.

"Not at all. I left a lot of family, great big clan of them across the south east," her eyes grew wistful for the tiniest moment at the mention of them. "But I was planning on leaving soon any way, so any other ties had been dealt with by the time I came here. I'd always been expecting something like this, so it was done tidily enough."

She gestured to the rest of his laundry, eyebrows raised.

baneful

 

[Baneful]

He couldn't help but have his smile soften gratefully as she put his sheets in the wash for him, seeming to relax as if some great housekeeping burden had just been lifted off of his shoulders. "Thankya." he said with a tip of his head in her direction.

"It's always sad to leave family behind. I didn't see my own family much after I moved to Florida, but I met Susie there, and got a bit of freedom I'd never had with my family meddling in everything." He laughed weakly. "We were one of those families where Nana used to have to be involved in everyone's business. She wanted to marry me off, but lets say her choices of suitors were a bit rough around the edges." he shook his head as if to dismiss the memories.

"I'd probably go back and take the offer if I could now, but there's no going back. Only forward, no point staring backwards, that's how you walk into things, eh?" he fished out the rest of the pillowcases and sheets, even his spare sarong. "I appreciate the help a lot. You try and get by, but some things just elude you when you are used to a woman's touch."

He frowned. "Not that I think its woman's work, no sireee. Mom just would have gone crazy if I invaded her domain with my floundering and Susie was the same way. Just get out before you hurt yourself, they'd say."

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

The mention of being married off to suitors earned the man a quizzical look, but she let it be. He was already a bit queer, and apples don't fall from orange trees, stands to reason his family would be too. "I didn't have too much meddling from my family, they did as best they knew how by me and left it at that. I miss them, of course, but I'm where I'm meant to be, no regrets."

She began dealing with the rest of his laundry, listening to him go on with a wry smile. How had this man ever managed to become a full hunter when laundry eluded him? "Oh well, it's hardly my domain. I just like to be capable at..." she thought a moment, "...everything."

She gave him a small, what can you do? shrug.

baneful

 

[Baneful]

"I don't know if this is where I'm meant to be but it's where I'm at, and I try to make the best of it." he leaned against the counter.

Butch stated matter-of-factly, startling Lawr slightly, it wasn't often the twisted dog-thing ever stopped rambling other than when he was completely absent and he'd been quiet for a short while.

"You seem to be pretty darn capable at everything I've seen you do so far, hidden stashes even for laundry." he smirked playfully. "I'm more of a wanderer, let the cards fall where they may kind of guy. I have very good intuition. Most of the time. At least when its not "will-my-house-get-flooded""

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

"I like to know where I'm going," America confessed, humming softly at the sarong before adjusting the wash setting and placing it in. "Or at least, that I'm able to get where I want to be." She shot him a sly, confiding smile before admitting, "It's not my stash."

Closing the last machine up, she leaned back against it, arms crossed against a chill that had settled in the room. "Do you go out on a lot of missions, then? To get your wander on?"

baneful

 

[Baneful]

"Must be nice to have that kind of direction rather than just always playing it by ear." She did get a laugh out of him as she admitted it wasn't actually her stash. "Even more respect from me then, there ain't nothing better in this world than a resourceful survivor."

"Yeah I do quite a few missions. Lot of them are classified though, Death division and all. It's good to get out, see the world, get off the island." he nodded, as if agreeing with himself. "What do you do for fun? In an interesting division?"

lizbot

 

[lizbot]

Hips idly swaying, fingers drumming a silent tattoo against the old washer, America tried to think of a life more off the island than on. It left her feeling a bit tired in way that likely wouldn't be there had she a room of her own to get back to tonight. She bit the inside of her lip, hard, and eased herself out of the melancholy that wanted to accompany that thought. This was all a very temporary set-back. Traveling around the word having secret adventures sounded like fun, and if she was a bit wobbly lately? Well her sea legs would come with time.

And practice.

Right-o.

"Sounds like you're living a movie," America offered him with a grin. "I'm in Sun, and it's...." she thought about Allan, "...it manages to surprise me on a daily basis, sure enough. But when it comes to fun..." she tilted her head bit, voice slipping soft and low, "I like getting to know folks, finding out what they want and where our interests happen to meet up."

baneful