#askredscout

[thenewscout]

(Continuation of @thecozycamper’s rp thread)

Staying low to the ground, the strange choice of carpet muffles their footsteps well enough to get a bit closer. Biting his tongue to prevent himself from jumping sky high at the nearby BANG! Of old heating units clattering to life.

Might’ve been Spy’s work.

Food for thought.

Picking up the pace, they fall into an uneasy rhythm. Scout unused to Mundy’s pace and vice versa. Not incomparable to a dog in how he follows at his heels, poking his head up every so often to listen for changes. Carpet turns to wood, soft thudding of shoes drowned out by the nearing debate. Dust, fried wires, salt and blowtorch fumes.

Through the door…

[thenewscout]

So wait. This… All of dis is way worse than I thought, right? Crap. Even spy’s worried… And he’s the best guy I know at dis job!

[thenewscout]

[ @rengineer ] "Merry Christmas, boy. Next time if the eggnog's got a kick like a mule, best not keep ridin’."

“Mmmerry Crimsmaas,” Scout holds a loose salute over his head, head laid back on the pillow. Alcohols outta the system, just left with a headache—playing it up, most likely. “‘Ey, maybe don’t spike it next time? Stuff was delicious, didn’t even notice.”

“Mostly.”

“Ok on second thought maybe it was kinda suspicious but I didn’t caaare it tasted good!!! Can you blame a guy?”

[thenewscout]

Right, alright, okay… Back straight, head up, pretend you know where you’re goin’… Is there a map around here..?

[thenewscout]

"....I-is someone there?"

“Ye-ACK!” The boy jumps a solid few feet into the air, going rigid as a board upon hitting the ground, turning to where he heard the noise.

The hearth is low, embers spitting from the charred remains of its fuel. Casting a dim, eerie light through the bars in front of it and sending it cascading into the awkward corners of the room. It’s shockingly small, with strange jutting corners with the walls that create ample blind spots. The faintest edges of the orange light bounce off of the plaster walls, lighting the two from below.

“WHAT! Are you doing here in the middle of the night?” The boy’s voice steadily drops from an outdoor voice, to indoor voice, to barely audible at all. Casting a distrustful look at the walls, unsure of how thick or thin they were. With how unbelievably illogical the layout of this place was, he figured it was a mix of both. Better to play it safe for now.

Squinting back at the silhouette he can barely make out in the dark, his face lights up in recognition—if a bit of confusion.

“Wait! I-uh, don’t think I know you yet. Unless you’re a Spy. Please don’t be a spy—You’re our uh—Our…” Trailing off for a moment, Scout taps at his chin. Index finger lifting to point up when it finally comes to him. “Oh! No wait… Oh yeah! You’re our cook, right? Chef lady? Is that— What do I call you? Cook feels too informal, is that rude? Sorry if ‘dats rude.”

He’s gone from lightly suspicious to completely fine with the stranger standing there, in the dark, in a strangely constructed base in less than a few seconds. Going so far as to crouch by the ebbing hearth and lift his hands near the bars, reaching for the little heat it provided.

[thenewscout]

O-Oh jeez. She was not kidding with the paperwork for this place… uhm…

Right, hahah. Ahah. Ah… Hah… hm. Yeah, this isn’t going to work, is it?

I’ve only seen photos of the other guys, and something tells me that I’m not nearly as big, or tall, or strong, or tall…

Man, guess I’m kind of envious, hahah.

Um, right. This paperwork…

Scout nervously flips through the stacks of typewritten documents, feeling his stomach sink at the tiny lettering crammed into every space of each paper. Even if he could read, he doubts that he could manage to comb through all of this without going bonkers, let alone without a magnifying glass…

No. No way. I’m not going to go looking for those guys, nada. They meet the new guy and the first thing he asks is how t’ read the paperwork he’s gotta sign to work here in the first place?! I’d be doomed…

Scout wrings his hands together, taking a deep breath and facing the empty room in front of him. That sparse desk wouldn’t do anything to help, would it? He needs sunlight, or the buzz of the kitchen light at midnight when an assignment is overdue.

The kitchen. Maybe he can try and focus in there, if he can find it… And if one of the guys finds him, he’d have the excuse of going there to focus on the document…

[thenewscout]

Hiya! What’s up? What’s good? What’s poppin’- ow! Hey, jeez, okay…

Ahem.

Right, names… Uh, right, “Scout?” Yeah, that’s uh-, that’s me, hahah.

…That does NOT sound right, still…

…Y’sure I can’t just..? No? Oh, jeez- Okay, okay, point taken, Miss Pau- I mean- Shh! Not talking! Not talking! I swear it!-

…

Ookay, then…

M’names the Scout, and I’m the newest recruit here on… On…

Re… Reliah… Rebibble… Exa… Ex… Exits- Exitstations?

Oh, okay. Yeah, that definitely sounds better.

Reliable Excavation & Demolitions team.

Um, I guess this… Thing is for questions? And stuff?

Oh- Right! It’s to keep the cops off our- I mean, it’s for publicity’s sake! To show how great we are at our…

Jobs!

Our jobs! Perfectly normal jobs-! What? Stop signing like that!!! I can’t- How d’you expect me to know what you want me to s- Point taken. Never mind. Moving on.

So uh, basically, kind of a big deal. Still learning the ropes around here, but ya gotta make sure you read tha rules, alright? Otherwise there’s gonna be trouble. Big trouble. And I mean, who wants that?

Is that enough? Oh thank goodness. Thank you—

[ End transmission. ]