NEWCOMER MINGLE
The ferry makes a soft landing against the jetty as it has done every few days throughout summer. Aina the ferry captain, usually wearing the proud orange short sleeve of the Kollo project, has bundled up in a black wind proof jacket. The island administrator Olivia has made no such compromises, determined to cling to summer as long as possible. She greets the newcomers with a smile, handing out brochures and showing them the way to the cabins.
Around noon there'll be a small get together to welcome the new arrivals. Nothing too fancy, though the blueberry pie that's being served is almost certainly homemade and made with blueberries picked from this very island. Coffee, tea and apple cider is also available.
A FARMERS LIFE FOR ME
It's harvesting season on Norrhamn and for once, plenty of free workers to go around... right? Those who venture up to the farm will find themselves roped into the activities by hook or by crook - doesn't matter if you got farming experience, there's always something you can do. Roofs need to be patched, hay needs to be baled, vegetables picked and fruit preserved for the long, cold, harsh, dark winter that's just around the corner.
Your work won't be in vain though. If you stick with it and stay until the evening, Einar and his family will treat their volunteers to a feast to show their appreciation. There will be such autumn delicacies as värmlandskorv, kroppkaka with salted pork and lingonberry jam, and fried salted herring with pickled cucumber and red onions on crisp bread. Stay really late and we're breaking into the good snaps, my friend. ]
[ you see one of these things and you've probably seen them all. especially if you you were used to a more comfortable lifestyle back home, he figures. he lets spike stare at him for awhile, just trying to see if he'll say anything, but then he gets that inquisitive look and he chuckles low and tips his hat. ]
[ This is almost too good to be true. A real, live cowboy - the West was already long conquered by the time he made it over the pond, but of course he's heard about them. Even eaten one or two of their descendents. Good, warm-blooded folk, that. ]
Oi, mate. [ He counters, letting the accent thicken. ] You new around here?
[ spike's accent surprises him a little. he's met englishmen before, naturally, but spike's accent is a little thicker, different. and that's before getting to the way he dresses. ]
[ Welcome to the whole experience that is Spike - so much of him is image and surface. If he kept the accent the way it was pre-turning, it may be a bit more recognizeable, but of course he had to go full on working class when he had the chance of reinvention. ]
I would say stay alert but honestly, so far this place is pretty much what it says on the tin. Quiet. Safe. [ He spits out safe as if that's not actually a good thing. ]
[ arthur has known plenty of people who would say safe the same way. a year ago, he might have even done the same. but he's old and tired and ready for safe, really. he chuckles low, quiet, but smiles. i guess when you run with the crowd he does those kinds of things become endearing. ]
[ There's a sort of mutually assured emotional destruction looming over this island. Everyone is here for the same messed up reason and there's no point in hiding it.
Spike gives a nonchalant nod in response, takes a sip from his still warm mug of blood. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Howdy, pardner.
no subject
Oi, mate. [ He counters, letting the accent thicken. ] You new around here?
no subject
[ spike's accent surprises him a little. he's met englishmen before, naturally, but spike's accent is a little thicker, different. and that's before getting to the way he dresses. ]
You got any advice for a newcomer like myself?
no subject
I would say stay alert but honestly, so far this place is pretty much what it says on the tin. Quiet. Safe. [ He spits out safe as if that's not actually a good thing. ]
no subject
Can't complain about that.
no subject
[ Him too, as it happens, though less for the peace and quiet and more for the time it affords him. ]
I'm Spike.
no subject
[ both of them. they both needed a break. ]
Arthur. It's a pleasure.
no subject
Spike gives a nonchalant nod in response, takes a sip from his still warm mug of blood. ]
So. When are you from?
no subject
[ and he kind of hated every moment of it, but that's ok. ]
You?
no subject
-but originally I'm from London. Left in 1880.
no subject
[ the drama definitely works ]
no subject
Quite a lot of changes in the world, too.