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@fuckthis (text)

hey
so me and wash and gene were gonna go on an adventure in the woods
see what we can find, you know?
but we're looking for a couple of people to bring with us
maybe two or three
gene's a medic, wash is a marine, and i'm a wizard with experience dealing with monsters and nasty magic
anyone that thinks they could round that out would be great
but no serial killers or anyone that would like
murder us in our sleep
and sorry, but no kids yet
i know some of you are gonna argue that, but we have no idea what we're dealing with and we don't want that on our consciences
anyway, let us know
thanks

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some of them seem to have short tempers.

[ He's not naming names. ]

you know, i can't remember. never put much stock in astrology.

[ Emphasis on short. Nate tried his best, but he could only say "child death is bad and I don't want to see it on my watch" so many times before conversations started getting a little cyclical. ]

neither do i, but i wasn't really serious

so what do you do that requires a lot of long walks and level-headedness?

i was an errand boy and bodyguard. the man i worked for had a lot of enemies.

[ It sounds pretty shady when he puts it that way. But it's not like Wednesday was the pinnacle of an upstanding citizen. Not by a long shot. ]

yeah, i know people like that

never worked for them, but it's a tough gig.

[ Maybe it's presumptuous. Maybe he'll risk alienating someone by leaping to conclusions, but Nate never got anywhere twiddling his thumbs and there are only a couple of career paths for people in a particular demographic.

He'd know. ]

...I'm probably gonna sound like an asshole saying this, but- where'd you serve time?

[ It's an unexpected question, but not necessarily an offensive one. Nor is it something Shadow feels the need to lie about. It's not as though he has to worry about parole violations anymore. ]

It's fine. There are worse ways to ask.

I was in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary for three years. Got out a few months ago. [ A pause, then: ] What gave it away?

[ He doesn't sound bothered. Just curious. ]

[ State pen isn't too bad, usually comes down to dealing or possession, manslaughter and low-level felonies. Still not an environment in which one flourishes, but he got the feeling Shadow was made of strong stuff. ]

Done my fair share of time, and there aren't a lot of diverse career opportunities for the recently emancipated.

[ He shrugs before realizing the guy can't see it. ]

Sometimes you can just tell when someone's been on the inside.

[ Shadow remembers being called "lucky" because he had a job waiting for him on the outside. It had vanished along with everything (and everyone) Shadow cared about. Knowing what he knows now, it wasn't luck that brought the next job offer into his life. ]

Yeah? I must've missed that class.

[ Or he just hasn't spent enough time around other humans since he got out. Either way, it's said with the lightness of a joke. ]

You did?

[ The innocent lilt of his voice would suggest that Nate is, in fact, also in on this particular joke. ]

That sucks. It was right after laundry duty and before P.E.

[ Shadow tsks in "disappointment." ]

That's what I get for using an outdated schedule.

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