(no subject)

[howling_laugh]

Coyote is sitting at a table in the bar, clothes streaked with mud and soot. There is more caked under her fingernails, and smudged on her face and in her hair.

The metal rivets in her jeans and eyelets in her boots are still steaming slightly.

She is staring at a newspaper with an expression torn between disbelief and perplexity.

It's definitely time for beer.

Comments

[not_his_pa]

William is finding a seat with a root beer and a steak when he walks by and her newspaper stops him,

"Ma'am, that about Arizona?"

[howling_laugh]

"It is the Los Angeles Times," Coyote tells him, carefully not touching the paper with her skin. "But this particular article is, yes."

She slides it in his direction with a handy fork.

[not_his_pa]

(OOC: Sorry to tag and run but couldn't resist Coyote. I'll be back at my normal tagging speed by tomorrow.)

He reads the headline and curses under his breath,

"Hell, I reckon that man's one of the stupidest I've ever heard of. Fire's fire, you pray it ain't comin' your way and help those its headin' towards but you don't stand there talkin' about."

[howling_laugh]

"Not as though the border is closed, in your time," she says. "And it is remarkably stupid."

To her, most people are illegal immigrants, anyway.

[not_his_pa]

"No, else outlaws like Wade wouldn't have any place to run too and it ain't as if we're even properly a state yet. Does he say that sort of thing a lot?"

The politician doesn't look that different from the ones in William's papers.

[howling_laugh]

She might have forgotten about the 'not a state yet' bit. Coyote likes her state, but the lines of it don't concern her very much.

"Probably. I am not much for politics. They rarely concern me."

Her specifically, anyway. They often affect people and places important to her, but she prefers not to think about that sometimes.

[not_his_pa]

"Yeah, the fires bad where you are?"

It looks like she's been real close to one.

[howling_laugh]

Gosh, how'd he guess? Though she is thankfully cooling off now.

"Yes. Particularly in the Southeast. There is one not far from where I live."

[not_his_pa]

"You need any help with it?"

He's not sure how useful he'd be in her time but he'll always offer.

[gavemea_45]

He'd made the excuse that he was going to run down to the corner store for caffeine and ducked out before Dean could argue.

It's not that he needs to find Ruby. She'd said she was going to lay low, and he can get by just fine without seeing her for a bit--

-- even if it means he's going dry.

But it's not like he needs it. It isn't.

Still, when he ducks into Milliways, he's a little on edge, and very aware of his surroundings, which means he pulls up short the second he spots Coyote.

"... that bad, huh." A beat. "Should I ask?"

[howling_laugh]

"I am pretty sure I am ahead of you," Coyote says, not touching the newspaper, and yet still trying to turn the page with a fork. "But you may want to avoid Arizona in June of 2011. There are many fires."

And stupid people she wants to set on fire.

[gavemea_45]

"Yeah, it's not 2011 for us," he confirms, and edges closer, craning his neck to see the paper.

Whatever it is, if it's that bad, he wants to know.

"Uh, can I get that for you?"

[howling_laugh]

She sighs, tossing the fork onto the table, where it also gives off a flush of heat where her hand was touching it. "Feel free. I don't care to look at it anymore."

[gavemea_45]

He gingerly picks up the fork, drops it again, and reaches for the paper with his fingers.

"Sure. No offense, but you kinda look like--"

That's as far as he gets before spotting the headline.

"--are you fucking kidding me?"

[howling_laugh]

"It isn't The Onion," Coyote says, like she kind of wishes it was.

And then she coughs, covering her mouth with one hand. She pulls out a handkerchief, blowing her nose and wiping away the black from her nose and mouth.

Even if she has nothing to worry about when it comes to burns, her lungs still don't care for a steady diet of soot and ashes.

[gavemea_45]

He glances away from the paper and at her.

"You okay?"

Even as he asks, Sam's in the process of picking up the paper and swiftly scanning the article. He reaches the end and makes a face.

"Okay, to be fair, I can sort of see the guy's point, but... that's like saying that hikers did it because they build campfires. There's no proof."

[howling_laugh]

She hacks discreetly behind her handkerchief for a another second or two before putting it away. "Fine," she coughs. "Don't smoke, Sam. It isn't good for you."

At least Coyote's terrible sense of humor seems intact.

[furiousmaximus.livejournal.com]

A pint of beer is set down on the table by her. It is held in the long arm of a huge guy with a concerned sort of grin on his face.

"Look like you could use this."

[howling_laugh]

She has cooled down enough so the beer won't be warm by the time it hits her mouth. Coyote takes a deep drink, and wipes her mouth with the back of her hand.

"Warm work," she explains. "Shall I pay you back with a drink for yourself?"

[furiousmaximus.livejournal.com]

"I never turn down an offer of a drink from a beautiful woman." As she well knows.

"But only if you want the company," Max adds. He doesn't actually want to intrude if she needs the down time.

[howling_laugh]

"I don't appear to be melting this chair, so it appears safe." She waves a hand at him. "Get whatever you want, put it on my tab."

Not that she actually has one stacked up- Coyote pays ahead of time. If she absolutely can't squirrel out of a debt, she will be very careful in not racking one up.

[furiousmaximus.livejournal.com]

Max waves at a waitrat, signaling for another glass like the one he set in front of her. "I'd ask how things are going, but..." While the details may not be clear, the general sense of things is pretty obvious.

[howling_laugh]

"My troubles are boring, especially to someone who does not even share the same landmass as I do, much less the same political system. Tell me what you have been doing instead."

[furiousmaximus.livejournal.com]

"Well, nothing quite like what you put me through," Max snorts.

"But... I suspect what I've been doing is pretty predictable." He is, after all, both unsubtle and a man of habit. "Though I have missed your company."

Because that little game had been interesting.

[howling_laugh]

"That isn't very specific," she scolds. "At least tell me what you have been occupying your time with when you are not here. You said you were a soldier, when we first met."

She doesn't really care much about other places besides Earth. Or even people from them, often. But Max is amusing, so she's curious.