[center][img] http://fontmeme.com/permalink/170611/08806e81a0203e453a2c58f159fc074c.png [/img][/center] [center][u]Location:[/u][/center][center][b]2Fort- Handsome Jack's Office[/b][/center] [center][u]Mentions:[/u][/center][center][@Crosswire] [@FrozenEcstasy] [@Eventua] [@DracoLunaris] [/center] John was satisfied with Handsome Jack’s approval, but his arrogant, bureau-reminiscent personality easily soured the already unfavorable impression John had when he entered the office. Handsome Jack being a loosely hinged, remorseless killer didn’t sit right with John either, but as he had so often been reminded, he had blood on his hands as well, and no amount of romance or justification could change that. John didn’t like Handsome Jack’s rudeness to the girl, either, but granted, her excitement did feel a little displaced. [i] A real cowboy? That ain’t too strange, is it? [/i] John thought to himself. Motorized thumping began to be heard from the office. As John stepped away from the desk to leave space for incoming volunteers, he caught the rhythmic thumps increasing in volume, approaching the office. [i] What could someone possibly want to herd in here? [/i] Turning around, John saw a small Oriental woman, her outfit more modest, yet still unfamiliar to John, approach the desk. Behind her, John finally saw the source of the sound: a lumbering, mechanized contraption, a caricature of a human form, marching behind her. The cowboy could barely make sense of the duo, who introduced themselves as Lily Shen and Julian. There was a level of discomfort in how often John was encountering people where New Austin manners didn’t seem to apply. John was glad he made space from the desk, and even more thankful for the space when the deathmatch between the purple psychic queen and the automated man went down. [color=a0410d]“Calm down! No one has to die today!”[/color] Despite his calls, he maintained his space and elected to let the situation diffuse itself, in the absence of any real way to separate the two demons himself. When the fighting died down, John was relieved, not only because the situation was settled relatively well, but knowing that Julian was strictly under the command of Lily. He would take a strange outfit over a hulking monstrosity any day of the week. The sudden appearance of the Batter chilled John in the same kind of way that 2Fort confused him. The pure white figure’s outfit and bat bore a strong resemblance to the baseball players in the big cities of the East, but it only rooted his strange hue and piercing, closed eyes in a familiar foundation. It’s always strangers one after another. John hadn’t even noticed the blue one around the corner until Handsome Jack had pointed him out, and even glancing at him, could barely make anything of him, shrunken around the corner as he was. He seemed harmless enough, though, which was a refreshing change of pace. With seemingly all the volunteers gathered, John quietly listened to Handsome Jack’s explanations. John was unnerved by Handsome Jack’s mention of his resurrection, lowering his hat. [color=a0410d]“A world where the dead can’t rest...I think the good book calls it Hell.”[/color] Being gunned down by the US army was not a memory wanting of recollection, and together with Jack’s speculations about this strange world, spoken in a room filled with fantastic people and beings, cemented just how much this world defied any logical thought John was capable of. So when Handsome Jack suggested a regular group to be formed for the sake of 2Fort, John raised his eyebrows. [color=a0410d]“This is certainly a strange posse we have here. Certainly never worked with anything like this before.”[/color] John grasped his belt, ruminating on his past experiences before remembering the kind of men that helped storm Fort Mercer and forced Bill out to Mexico. Oddities and nuisances. John shrugged and smirked to himself. [color=a0410d]“Although, I can’t say working with strange folk’s anything new.” [/color] The world was still dangerous, the people were still unhinged, and his family still needed him. It would have been real amusing for John how parts of his life tend to repeat themselves, if he didn’t remember how these chapters ended each time. In the end, it meant that Handsome Jack’s plan was just as strong as any, and he listened quietly to the remainder of the briefing. [hr] John was confident in his pitch to Handsome Jack. Always was pretty good at marketing himself. But the truth was that being good at shooting and riding doesn’t mean anything without a gun or a horse. Even his old Cattleman would have been handy right now, but somehow John’s guns didn’t follow his soul’s example and make their way back to where they belonged. This needed to be remedied as soon as possible. With the briefing complete, John turned toward the group. [color=a0410d]“Uh, hello. My name’s John Marston, for those of you who weren’t here when I introduced myself.”[/color] John was used to planning heists with his old gang. But the situation now differed from his old ways in two ways: they didn’t know exactly what treasures and dangers they would find out beyond 2Fort, and he didn’t know exactly what these people were capable of. Given these circumstances, he kept his ideas open; it’s not like plans ever stayed together. [color=a0410d] “I’m heading to the bridge over the pond once I’ve finished having a look around. I say we all group up there once we’re ready to head out. Y’all can pick which direction we head from there, but exercising my presumably democratic right of voting, I’d like to head north. Thoughts?”[/color] The question hung in the air. [color=a0410d]"I don't suppose any of you has a spare gun by the way?"[/color] [hr] On the way up from the offices, John noticed a room at the base of the stairs heading topside. Peering inside, John beheld a plethora of miscellaneous junk strewn around the room. There was more chaos in this waiting room than the lodgings at Thieves’ Landing; but like the rooms in that back-end swamp, there could be something hidden in just the right places. Maybe there’d be a few dollars lying around in a broken cabinet. Hell, if he's really lucky, maybe even a revolver. [b][Roll for search][/b]