“Well howdy partner! Say, I know this is gonna be a strange question since we don’t know each other and all, but are y’all gonna eat that?”
Charley was about to stuff a big chunk of fire roasted lizard into his mouth when a voice piped up behind him. He froze, shoulders hunching as he overcame the urge to cram the entire steaming chunk into his mouth at once, burns be damned.
He looked slowly over his shoulder, expecting James maybe - but it wasn't. Some strange, oddly perky stranger standing there. Charley looks from him to the other stick near the fire, parked in the ground and stuffed with meat.
"No...?" Charley looked back at the man. "There's plenty...have a seat."
Thomas was a bit of a heathen when it came to food— especially meat. And besides, you missed all of the shots you didn’t take! He’d never even have a chance to eat whatever it was this stranger was cooking if he didn’t ask. And who knew, maybe it’d be nice to make a friend in this weird place.
When Charley turned to look he’d see a picture perfect cowboy, as odd as it may seem. A red gloved hand raises to tip the brim of his hat upwards, fully showing off his eager grin and shimmering eyes. Funny, he almost looked like an excited dog.
Wasting no time he settles himself in next to Charley, that bright smile not faltering a bit. “Aw shucks, that’s awful nice of y’all! Thanks fer lettin’ me have some. I ain’t never been in a place like this before, so I ain’t really sure what ta eat around here. Ya know, cause some stuff might be poisonous and I don’t know if my respawn’ll work out here or not.” A wide shrug, it seemed this man could just about talk to a fence post. “Oh! Where are my manners? Name’s Thomas, Thomas Hickshaw. It’s a pleasure t’ be meetin’ y’all.” The greeting is accentuated by a respectful tip of his hat.
"There's a respawn machine here." Charley speaks slow, not out of a desire to be rude, but because this was the weirdest goddamn thing he had seen in a long time. The stranger looked like he walked straight out of the Wild West and Charley had to give a quick look around to make sure there wasn't an entire horse standing around, complete with saddle.
A blink, "Charley Harris. Nice to meet you, Thomas." He almost reached up to tip his own hat (that he wasn't wearing - hell he didn't even own one) before stopping himself, offering a hand to shake.
"Help yourself. It's lizard but it tastes like chicken." His own stick and meat chunk was completely forgotten in his other hand. He almost wanted to grab this Thomas in both hands and give him a little shake, just to make sure he was really real and not just an extremely vivid hallucination.
"Most things here are edible...the animals are, at least. Plenty of um, fruits and...stuff. Ah. Forgive my but, when did you get here?"
“Oh! Is there? Well I guess I’m in luck then, ain’t I? And here I was thinkin’ we only had ‘em back on base. Least, that’s what th’ big boss said. Probably meant they just got ‘em first, or somethin’.” The cowboy laughs as he rolls his eyes, he acted like he had known Charley his entire life. But hey— this stranger was giving him food, and that made him an instant friend in Thomas’ mind.
“Charley? I ain’t met too many Charley’s in my day! Which do y’all prefer darlin’, Charley or Mister Harris?” Gloved hand takes Charley’s eagerly, giving a firm and borderline excited shake. Since he’d started to work for RED he hadn’t really met any new people, so to say he was eager for the change of pace would be an understatement.
His stomach growls when the other mentions the meat in question, and suddenly he remembers why he came over at all. “Chicken?” The cowboy parrots, letting out a low impressed whistle. “I ain’t had nothin’ that tastes like chicken in a long time! Thanks again for sharin’, darlin’.” And with that he decides to tuck in, going for the stick planted in the ground to help himself to the meat there.
Nodding along as Charley continues to speak, he’s really only half listening as he fills his stomach. But then there’s a small pause, and the city boy asks a question which has Thomas raising his head and then tilting it curiously. “Me? Well gee... I’d reckon I haven’t been here too long, really. Just got here today! By accident, mind ya, but it ain’t been so bad here. After all I got to meet y’all, didn’t I?” That warm smile returns to him then, just for Charley. The other seemed like pleasant company, after all! What was that old saying? The quickest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach.
