(Untitled)

[first_of_steel]

WHO: Roger Maxson and Verity Carlo (or whatever she may be calling herself if she's decided to change to her True Spirit Name or something). Kang and Pepper are welcome to turn up if they like.
WHAT: Roger's attempt at breaking what looks to HIM like brainwashing.
WHERE: The backyard of Roger's hostel in zone 3.
WHEN: Sometime after Ironhide's call

Comments

[wreckerverity]

That's Crystal Flowerwing, she thought, blearily, the call waking her up after a very late night of dancing and emotional purging. But then again, Captain Maxson is still unenlightened, so...Verity had patience. Especially since he seemed to be reaching out to her. Maybe, Verity thought, he has seen the light.

Even though she has doubts that Logic and Reason and Thinking can lead to enlightenment. But it was a start.

So she rolled over, flipping the All Natural Eco-Friendly Hemp blanket off her legs, and answered her comm.

"Captain Max! How wonderful to hear! How can I hellp you ?"

[first_of_steel]

Guh. That was just unnerving. Well, not like he hadn't kept himself in line in the face of more disturbing things than that.

"Kang's mentioned to me that you had some recommendations about his diet. It got me thinking."

Mostly 'dear God, they really got their claws into her brain', but thinking is thinking regardless of topic.

"I don't suppose there's any chance you could have a look at my current kitchen and pantry setup and recommend a few changes?"

[wreckerverity]

Well, she hoped it had gotten KANG thinking as well. About his awful meat-eating ways. Still, they did live together, and converting Captain Max to Holistic Eating was sure to have some pull with Kang....

"Venison! He eats BAMBI!" She almost cried. Poor Bambi. Lost his mother and everything.

Verity scrambled up, and began digging through her bag. Yes! Her book on Feng Shui!

"I'd be glad to! I'll bring some sweetgrass and some smoky quartz, too, for an entire cleansing of the area. You know, where Kang probably cooks his died-in-pain." If he cooked it at all. Ick. SO unenlightened! This was both a crisis and an opportunity. "On my way!"

[first_of_steel]

"... sure, you do that," Roger said. Remembering some of the comments he'd heard he added, "I've got plenty of sage leaves here if you need them."

They'd been meant for the stuffing. Well, one of the stuffings. He'd just bought more sage than he'd intended.

"I'm at the hostel. It's easier than working in the apartment kitchen."

[wreckerverity]

See? she thought. He already had sage. He had obviously turned a corner in his spiritual development. She's so very happy to hear this.

"Wonderful! And how wonderful you're going to cleanse the hostel kitchen, so that all of the patrons can benefit by your effort. You truly have a noble soul, Captain!"

Now if only we could get him away from that military/industrial complex mentality....

"You can pay attention and then do it in your apartment kitchen later." Ah, that old and wise proverb about teaching a man to fish...!

[first_of_steel]

"Sounds like a plan to me," said Roger. "At any rate, I'll be here when you get here."

He'd already cleaned up the kitchen as best he could after the past two days' worth of preparation and cooking. The result was set up on a picnic table outside. Now the only thing left to do was wait.

[wreckerverity]

Well, it took a while, what with the public transportation and everything, but Verity appreciated the chance to mingle with her fellow spiritual travelers. It was like riding in a metaphor: all of them together headed toward the same place, each trying not to expand, no one knowing where anyone else would depart but sure where they were ultimately going so long as they trusted the (divine) bus driver....

But she finally made it, though her bag of crystal points that she'd been handing out to everyone she met was, by now, a bit flaccid.

But here she was, Maxon's hostel. "Captain Maxson! I'm here!" she announced, probably entirely unnecessarily, her words riding in on a wave of patchouli scent.

[first_of_steel]

... wow. Well, at least there was a hose available, too. And some scrub brushes. And some peppermint soap.

"Verity. Good to see you." Maxson smiled, waving one still-oven-mitted hand. As a matter of fact, he'd left his apron on, too- to show willing, if nothing else. "I hope the trip here wasn't too much of a problem for you. I've just been tidying up after trying to get used to the place. Most of the time I just make breakfast..."

[wreckerverity]

"Not a problem, Captain Maxson! I love mingling with my fellow journeyers! Such an amazing variety of experiences to be seen and had!"

Ah, her old, unenlightened self would have kicked half the bus passengers in the head. Tsk. Such an unevolved state. She was so glad to be past that. Not that, erm, she was judgmental.

"Tidying up is wonderful! Decluttering our spaces declutters our spirits!" She walked into the kitchen and frowned. She turned accusingly at him. "Captain Maxson. I smell...meat." DEATH had been cooked here, and recently. These hostel dwellers needed someone to take better care of their habits...and karma.

[first_of_steel]

"Yes. You do," said Roger, who'd had some time to think about this. "The fact is that I had a lot of meat in my refrigerator before now, and my mother always told me that wasting food was a crying shame. Better to cook it all up in one last hurrah and offer it to anybody on the premises who might need a meal than to just throw it away, right? At least this way the animals won't have died for nothing, and people will be more inclined to look kindly on the next round of offerings from this kitchen."

Roger, you crafty devil!!!

[wreckerverity]

Erm. Well, this was an...uncomfortable moment. On the one hand, meat is murder. On the other, feeding the hungry had to be an act of charity.

"Well...that's the best of an unfortunate situation. Of course the best solution is to never get in that situation again. Meat goes bad so quickly."

"Which is," she said, walking further into the kitchen, "why it is bad for you. Have you seen what meat does to the digestive system?"

This is the man who songbombed Dirgewave. He's good at crafty.

[first_of_steel]

"I've seen what my old mess sergeant's meat does," Roger said. "It was amazing how far we could march on canned rations if the thought of his idea of nutrition was hanging over us. Meat's not supposed to be grey."

Truly a man among men! erm, mechs.

[wreckerverity]

"You think you might have learned your lesson then, huh?"

If there was any image more repugnant eating the flesh of living creatures, it was the idea that that meat should be...grey. Yuck.

"Right. Let's get started. How can I help you, Captain?"

[first_of_steel]

"Yes. Don't trust Sergeant Raimondi."

He gestured towards the pantry, taking the opportunity to glance outside. Looked as if everything was ready out there, or close to it- the instructions had said that once the main course hit a hundred and eighty degrees it ought to be allowed a little carry-over cooking time before anyone sliced into it. He needed to stall just a bit longer.

"Well, first things first, we should probably go over the canned goods and make sure everything there's up to snuff. The fridge and the freezer've been emptied out almost entirely, but if I'm going to improve the eating around this place I'd like to have supplies to fall back on in addition to the fresh."

[wreckerverity]

Well, that...wasn't the lesson she was going for. Still. He was on A Path. And she should not disrespect his progress, no matter how incremental. "But don't you see? That's what eating meat does to you. Makes you mean! I bet if he ate less meat, his kapha wouldn't have been as aggressive." Or...something like that.

She saw him glance outside. Oh, good. Maybe he had room for a little garden out there. The best vegetables were organic and home grown. But for now, she followed him into the pantry.

"Wow, Captain, you, uhhhh, sure do have a lot of canned goods!" And...so well organized. OCD much?

[first_of_steel]

"His what, now?" said Roger. "I don't think I know that term."

He nodded. "I might have been Army, not Coast Guard, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with 'semper paratus' as a motto. Always prepared."

Not that he'd dug a fallout shelter here yet, but somehow he had a feeling this wasn't a great area for trying to dig that kind of security in anyway.