Rick was one to keep his head down ever since he was young, after he had passed the phase of trying to rebel his life away and run around like he knew everything with kids who were terrible influences on him. After his train accident, beyond being a very truant child in high school, he had never gotten into any kind of trouble that would bring an extreme amount of attention to him. Hell, while he had been in the higher rankings of the army, and well-respected, met a fair share of leaders, his last year had been spent as a wardog, which meant his name became nothing more than a ghost- whispered about but never really confirmed to be real. That fact alone had set that part of his life to be concrete- in all his relationships where he felt belittled, abused, it only became more concrete in his personality. When he wanted to be heard, he would be heard, but otherwise, he wished nothing more than to lay low- that way, if he disappeared, then that was that. He would simply be gone into the wind and no one would ever miss him, not for a second. The thought crossed his mind, briefly, to be paired with something darker, and a frown crossed his face briefly as he lingered upon it. He wondered if he would need to up his antidepressants soon. Something, anything. Shaking the thought from his mind and smiling at the other man politely, he replied, “Yeah, I figured. You were here when I moved in last January.” He was observant. Too observant. Picking apart every detail and analyzing it, tearing it to shreds. That was what he did best. Chris’ chuckle caused him to smirk, joking offhandedly, “If ya ever lose me in a crowd, all ya gotta do is find Jesus, as my friend says.” Flicking his fingers absently as he spoke, he shrugged his shoulders slightly. Rick’s drawl was not nearly as eloquent as Chris’- while it was faintly laced with a Swedish accent, it was the accent of a man who grew up as trash on the streets of Sweden. Gritty and a little rasping at times, if only for his former drug abuse. “Not at all,” he replied with a shake of his head, gesturing and heading out the door, holding it open for him politely, before pulling out his pack of Marlboro Blacks, removing two cigarettes and offering one to him. Putting his own between his lips, he held his Zippo out to Chris first to light his cigarette before lighting his own, leaning against the wall and scanning the horizon. “Gotta say I miss th’ winter already.” Didn’t help that he wore a hoodie over his clothes all the fucking time. “This heat is fuckin’ disgustin’.”
It was clear that they both had a penchant for finding themselves too far in their own heads, but neither would acknowledge it. In all reality, Chris respected it. He didn’t know Rick well, obviously, but the preacher had a way of feeling when someone seemed to be broken inside, and this man fit the bill–then again, Chris fit the bill just as well himself. Chris was just as broken as the people he wanted to save, but he’d work on himself last. For now, the young prophet was content to kill his thoughts with cigarettes, sex, and a fair amount of alcohol. “Been here about four years, now. Nice and cozy. Could probably stay another four if I really wanted to,” the younger male let out a chuckle, shrugging. He followed Rick outside and was thankful as he lit the cigarette. “Can’t say I agree with you there, but hey, to each his own,” Chris laughed once more, exhaling a cloud of smoke easily into the warm air. His own wardrobe was clearly not fit for Nevada weather, but somehow he managed. “I reckon I occasionally miss havin’ real seasons, but I was never much a fan of the cold. Prefer it to be a little brisk, but not much on snow or anything like that.” Trekking back and forth to the church in the snow had been his least favorite thing as a child, and even now he hated to think about it. “I do agree with you that it’s too damn hot, though.”