Ash Holloway
Location: Building 2, Mess Hall
Ash eyed the man for a moment, considering his words about what he considered fair. Yes, it was hardly fair for his people to be waiting out in the heat and humidity while Beni fed his belly and enjoyed the cooler air. All the same, the stalwart Captain had been taught that it was very rude to decline the offer of food or drink, hospitality of any kind, really, when a guest in someone else's home. This would definitely apply to these circumstances. All the same, he declined in a manner that was respectful. Had to count for something. The man seemed to be genuinely concerned with the welfare of his own group of survivors, and if he was to be believed, the lives of others he had taken in.
If he could be believed, mind you, IF. Three dozen or so people living on their own, someplace not too far away. To hear Beni talk, it wasn't the first place they settled, either, and if he was impressed with the setup here at Newnan, that likely meant that they didn't have quite the same level of infrastructure built up. If everything came together, they actually had a lot more to bargin with than whatever was in that bag. All the same, formalities must be observed and the relationship between the two settlements must be allowed to take its course. This was a beginning.
Ash responded to Beni's observations about Newnan first.
"I appreciate, Beni. It wasn't just me who set this place up, though. There were survivors already present, long before my group got here. Hell even "my group" was a combination of folk from Virginia, mostly distillery workers with families and Army personnel that followed me from Dobbins. In east Tennessee we met up with Lt. Colonel Leann McCormick, had a group of her own." Ash's face darkened when he spoke of Leann. He had great respect for the lady, bordering on actual fondness. She died for nothing, simply shot at a distance because she was standing in a doorway. The desire to set Eden on fire and piss on the ashes grew within the man in that moment, a feeling he pushed back, in only for the time being.
Emotion holding onto his speech, if only slightly, caused his native Virginian accent to
"She told me her idea about Newnan; prime location and good growing season, high water table, preexisting infrastructure that could be readily adapted to function on a smaller scale... I'm getting off topic. We started out as a lot of different groups and became a family. Leann and I were both military engineers, in our own ways, before all this happened. She had big ideas, I had smaller ones. We both implemented them, and we had a lot of good men and women carrying it out. Leann made most of this happen. I'm just the jackass that inherited her title after she took a bullet, courtesy of some very unfriendly people east of here." Ash sighed. He had spoken more than he had intended, and now he was holding up trade negotiations. It looked to be the time for light introductions.
"My apologies. This is Astrid. Among other things, she's a Medic. Our Doctor is less available at the moment, but she is fully capable of speaking with you about what we can spare. I'd also like you to speak with..." he motioned for Sally to join them,
"...Miss Sally. She is unofficially in charge of almost everything else. If you would though, give our Medic a few minutes before we get to business. I believe this is the first time she's eaten in a while." Ash himself had already had a late afternoon/early evening meal earlier, but the smell of smoked venison did call to him. Maybe a little, if any were left, after negotiations had concluded.
The Great Bazhooli
Location: Building 7 (Rec Center)
Florida? How in the hell had Meghna guess that he was from Florida? Maybe it was the manner in which he described his family wintering out near the groves, which admittedly would have keyed off any American with rudimentary knowledge of Florida geography. St. Petersburg. Of course. It was a fact that he had hoped to keep quiet for a while yet. Strangely enough, no one had even bothered to ask what his real name was. Let's face it, The Great Bazhooli wasn't really something that parents sit down and think about with any seriousness when discussing baby names. Well, unless you lived in Hollywood. Those people had a screw loose, even moreso than Bazhooli's circus folk. And his people could be wonderfully colorfully eclectic, like a kaleidoscope of cultural oddities. Take Bazhooli, for example.
The moniker that he used was really more of a title, anyway. One that he most assuredly earned over time. Sadly, it would very likely die with him. Even if he found someone with which he could bear a child, he would have to raise and train said child in the manner that he was raised and trained. It was a matter of many long years. He would most likely die by gunfire or ripped to pieces by snarling dead people long before he ever got the chance to have a family, let alone pass down the name. But it
was his, as surely as his birth name.
At that moment of contemplation, he had two thoughts:
First, what if he had a daughter? It would be the first female Great Bazhooli. Not that women were forbidden, mind you. Just that no woman so far in the line had put forth the interest nor effort. A Lady Bazhooli would be an interesting thing indeed. Especially in this day and age, the same skills that he learned to entertain would be tasked from birth to survive and commit acts of general badassery. The Great Bazhooli, Hero of the Apocalypse. Yes, if he lived long enough, his successor would be a force to be reckoned with.
Second, where the hell was his cat?
Bridgette Vinters
Location: Gilbert Street near Building 5, Fabrication
Bridgette led Jack back to the Inner Wall, and inside without incident. She wasn't quite as talkative coming back as she was going out; a sense of cautious awareness kept her alert. That stretch of land within the Outer Wall was sparsely inhabited at best, with a few places where it was easy to get boxed in. The superior speed of Cadence would give her a advantage in case of a Walker attack under those circumstances, but she was traveling with a guest on foot. So she had to keep it nice and slow, follow the main road back. The instant the gate closed behind them, the felt better.
It was at that time that she responded to her helper's observations.
"Fucking A right there, Marky. People suck. I mean, people have always sucked, but now there's a lot less to scare them into not being utter douchenozzles. I swear, some people need to be fitted for a twelve foot ass-stake and posted up in public." She rode slowly for a few seconds longer before she realized that she hadn't actually answered Jack's question about the ladder. It seemed a trifle impolite to just have him follow blindly without knowing where he was going. And if nothing else, Bridgette did strive to be polite. It's what she was best known for. Or not.
"Yeah, ladder. Just a little farther. We've got a building we use for fabrication. Like most of the crap around here, there's a whole lot of space inside we don't use. I think they're hoping for expansion. Eh... store a lot of our tools there. Dropping off my shit too." In less than a minute, the pair arrived at Building 5. Bridgette unslung her saddlebags and walked up to the front doors, where she handed off the contents to a man just inside. Even less effort than she had anticipated. She returned and did the same with the ladder.
"Thanks for the assist." she said with honest gratitude.
"Hey look, I've got shit to do, but..." It was at this time that she was interrupted by one of Newnan's agricultural staff, coming up in a huff. He was saying something about spooked or nervous horses, and how he needed her help. It made sense; Bridgette had good experience with horses. Mostly her own, but she had cared for others, with supervision, in the past. If the few others with livestock experience couldn't figure it out, talk to an equestrian. All the same, she had other things she needed to be doing at the moment. The additional duty irked her. Necessary, but she was looking forward to working in her forge, maybe cracking open a mason jar of Ash's sippin' whisky later. And so, she spoke with the twin attributes of diplomacy and restraint.
"Oh for FUCK'S SAKE! You don't think I've got shit to do right now?" The look of incredulous irritation across her features was obvious, even caricature-esque in nature. Let it never be said that Bridgette was not expressive, particularly in the area of rage.
"Jesus McFucking Christ, can't you see I'm trying to wrangle me a fucking three-way with the new guy and my sister? Fuck am I supposed to do about it now?" The modern day Valkyrie let out a loud, lingering growl.
"FINE. Lead the way, I'll look at your horsey problem." She looked over to her recent assistant, and addressed him in more dulcet tones,
"Hey there, Jack. Mind helping me a little more tonight?" Without waiting for a proper answer, Bridgette reigned Cadence around and started following the man down to the main gate and toward the stables.
Black James!
Location: Building B (Zoie's House)
"Hells yeah, Miss Zoie!" started James, before he remembered that his old friend was supposed to be taking it easy. It's not everyday that you get a major artery clipped by a bullet and live to tell about it. While it was a torso shot, it wasn't going to change her dietary plan. Especially not when The Esteemed Mr. Grady comes calling with smoked meats and assorted post-apocalyptic epicurean sundries. But mostly the meat.
"Y'know, little lady, there's worse things out there than pillows. You an' me both know that. But hey, we got other things to deal with just now; that's right." James lifted the cover from one of the plates, handing it to Zoie.
"That there's a piece of slow smoked goodness with a light spice rub and just a little bit of Ash's better hooch. It ain't my State Fair material, but it's worth chippin' a tooth over, I tell you what." He smiled broadly, glad to see some element of excitement in Zoie's face.
"Just as long as that tooth you're chippin' ain't mine, we'll be ok." His smile turned into a full laugh. When it subsided, he looked down at the remaining covered plate. Realizing that Dick probably wouldn't be back for a while, at least for as long as James decided to stick around. It was kind of funny, the ebon skinned man was beginning to believe that on some level, that guy Dick just didn't like him. Very sad. And here he had brought this heaping plate of goodies just for him, too.
Far be it for James to chalk this up as a loss, however. It had been a long while since he got any quiet time with his long-standing friend, and he had neglected to take a meal that day. Dick knew where the Mess Hall was. Instead, James popped the cover off of the second plate, grabbed up a fork, and dug in. If Ash needed him, both he and Zoie had an active walkie. He was heavily armed and a half block away, if that. He was going to have a really nice meal with his oldest living friend.
"So hey girl, how you been? Anything you need know 'bout what's goin' on out there? But mostly, how you been?" 
Building E, Kristina's room
