terribly sorry, officer (baelfiery) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-09-07 22:05:00 |
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There wasn’t a bus line that went directly to the outreach center. Wash thought it something of a miracle that a bus line even went out there. Well, more like three bus lines to go from his apartment in Seal Beach all the way to the other side of the county. It felt like going across the world. He needed to get a car. Badly. Despite leaving at the asscrack of dawn, it was creeping up to mid afternoon by the time Wash ambled off the bus feeling as tired and rumpled as the road looked. He’d had the foresight to map out the best route to take to walk to the outreach center. It was something of a trek, but hoofing it was nothing new to Wash. At least he’d get his exercise in for the day. It was very desert-like out here. Dusty scrub covered hills, very wild west looking. Wash half expected to come across a cowboy astride a horse at any moment. The air was fresh being this far away from the city, which was nice and something Wash could get used to if he came out here on a regular basis. Marine to ranch-hand. Funny how life worked out, isn’t it? With very little in the way of tall vegetation, it was getting hot by the time when what Wash hoped was the out-reach center came into view. Dusty, sweaty and a little tired, Wash made is way through the front gate and towards what looked to be an office. He really needed to get a car. Wash was going in the right direction - the office (the main one and all of them, really) were located in a ranch-style house on the property. Neal was barely in his since he was outdoors most of the day, doing more hands-on maintenance things or working with the kids; it was also the time of the year when the ranch hands were busy with cleaning and storing the haying equipment, applying (organic) pesticides to the spacious greens to keep them free from nasty critters, and cutting firewood. They’d need it, come December when it freakishly snowed as it always tended to do in Orange County. But since fall was approaching, that meant the sun would set earlier so the workdays would be a little shorter too. He heard someone come in through the main entrance and Jen, the secretary who had been with the ranch since its inception, called for Neal to tell him there was a visitor. A minute later he emerged from his office, dressed casually, his usual uniform of jeans and a t-shirt - and he was also sporting one of those warm, crooked grins. “Hey, you must be Wash,” he held out his hand in greeting. “I’m Neal. Good to meet you in person.” Looked like the guy had a rough trip getting here, but sweat and dirt and dust were not foreign concepts ‘round the outreach center. “You want anything to drink, then I can tell you more about the place and show you around?” Water! Yes, thank god! Wash had finished the bottled water he’d picked up at the corner store by his apartment during the last leg of his trip and had seriously regretted not getting another when he’d had the chance. The desert felt as if it had crawled into his mouth and was trying to creep its way down his throat. He took Neal’s offered hand in greeting. “It’s good to meet you too,” he said. He was glad - and thankful - that Neal had called him Wash instead of David. David may have been his name legally, but it fit him about as well as a beaten up pair of shoes. Fine, but not quite right. Wash, even Washington, as weird as it sounded to some people, suited him much better. At least he thought so. “Water, please,” he answered Neal’s offer. “It’s kinda hot out there and I had to walk a ways.” That should explain why he was sweating and why a layer of desert dust coated his boots, the lower half of his jeans and probably his blond hair. As long as Neal didn’t bring up the still-healing bruise on the side of Wash’s face, they’d be golden. “I really appreciate you taking the time to show me around,” he went on. No danger of bringing up that bruise - it had been a weird time in the OC lately, and Neal still felt partly responsible for the anger spell, even if Regina had assured him it wasn’t his fault during their talk. And it wasn’t, he knew that, but when it came to any form of his father, the Dark One, let’s just say that Neal would always harbor residual guilt - in this life and the next. “I’m glad to do it, and hopefully you’ll want to come on board,” he chuckled, dipping into the break room to grab a bottled water from the fridge, and he handed the drink to Wash. Then it was off to begin the tour. “So, let’s see. Officially the ranch is called The Jean Grey Outreach Center, and we’ve got I guess you could call them ‘troubled’ youth,” Neal started. “They’ve done a stint or two in juvie, or are on the brink, and here’s where they come to sort of get their lives back on track. They really love the animals and they like being a part of something, and on our end, it’s a lot of work to maintain everything but it’s good work.” Or at least he thought so - as they walked, he pointed out things too. The dorms (both boys and girls dorms), the infirmary, the full-sized gym. He’d get to the Danger Room and the more discreet purposes of the ranch in a moment - it wasn’t for everyone to know, but the new potential employee being a part of the group of eclectic Dreamers, Neal felt comfortable sharing. “As far as ranch hand work, it’s seasonal,” he explained. “Fall’s for cleaning and repairing equipment and fences, and also new construction and vaccinations for the animals, along with the usual caring for them. Winter’s more about maintenance, spring’s all about calving, summer is long and we’re just winding down with that now - lots of haying and work on making the trails nice.” Wash glugged down the water as Neal showed him around, but he was paying close attention to what Neal was telling him. Wash would agree, anything that helped what society labeled as “troubled” or “at-risk” youth was important. A place for kids to come to where they could learn skills, be a part of a community, feel accepted and belonged but most important feel safe. He knew all too well what it was like to not have that safe place to go to. Wash still wasn’t sure how well he’d do with kids one-on-one, but if he could help in someway, even behind the scenes, he’d like to. “Do the kids stay here?” He asked when Neal pointed out the dorms. He nodded along as Neal described the various duties that came with the seasons. It sounded good to Wash. He’d be occupied here with something to do at all the time. Good work for a good cause. “They do,” Neal confirmed, with a glance to the dorms as they passed by. “It’s kind of like...a school? In a sense. I mean, they go to class and have homework in addition to the counseling sessions and work with the animals, so, they’re always doing something.” Keeping them busy was important too, giving them tasks they could handle and complete to feel good about - a lot of these kids just never had the chance, in the past, to feel good about anything they accomplished. He was fond of all the hellions though, he liked working with them. It was why Neal was glad to get more people on board at the ranch, because it left more time for him to help run the place with admin things and also spend more time with the chillun’s. “Gotta tell you, I really wish there was a place like this when I was a kid,” he smiled. “I had a rough start, shall we say.” He wouldn’t have gone through half the crap he did if there had been a safe place for him - maybe he wouldn’t have learned all those viable criminal skills too. “Anyway, my own kid comes by too sometimes - he likes it here. What eleven-year-old doesn’t like rolling around in dirt, right?” Neal chuckled. “So if you take the job you might see him. He’s curious and inquisitive.” So this was a little more than an outreach center that was open for a few hours after school. This was the real deal, the whole kit and caboodle. Wash had to hand it to Neal or whoever owned and ran the place. It couldn’t be easy to deal with on a day to day basis. But, the rewards had to be immeasurable. “Yeah, I wish there’d been a place like this where I was growing up too,” he said a little thoughtfully. “Let’s say my stepfather was frustrated with life and he liked to take that frustration out on me.” Wash wondered if he’d been able to come to a place like this, how different his life would have turned out. Yeah, actually, the more he heard, the more he thought he could be a part of it. Maybe find that purpose that had been so elusive up to this point. He turned a half-grin towards Neal. “Are you kidding?” He said with a chuckle. “I know some grown-ass adults who still like rolling around in the dirt.” Wash glanced around. He could easily see himself working here, but there was one catch. Thankfully he had met Neal on Valarnet, so this would be an easy catch to talk about. He turned back to Neal and lowered his voice. “You’re on the network too, so...you know how weird it can get around here, right? Is there...anything around here related to that I should know about?” Right, that catch. Neal was going to bring it up at some point during this half interview, half tour, so he certainly didn’t mind. “Definitely am accustomed to the weirdness of Orange County,” he assured - really, trust him, he’d been through it all. “I’ve been possessed and I even died once, just for a minute or so. I’ve seen friends go through all kinds of shit. So you don’t have to worry about explaining any of that.” As for what everything meant here, at the ranch? There were a couple key points to go over. “In addition to taking care of kids, we’ve got kind of a - “ How to put this? He kept his voice low too, brow furrowed as they passed the fenced-in cattle areas. Mooooooooo. “It’s called the Danger Room? It’s a place where people from the network can come and train with their new powers or abilities or whatever. Safely. If they want to. My son’s mother is part of the more magical side of things, there’s a Guild for that, but here there’s a training center for the non-magical side of things. Inherited powers, powers granted from the dreams, things like that.” Wash stopped walking. Danger Room? That had a familiar sound to it. Wash had stepped from a western and right into a sci-fi comic. And, yeah, he was staring at Neal now, no shame, in that. Wash had been doing a lot of staring as more and more things were thrown at him and he would probably be doing a lot more staring in the future. May as well get used to it. But a training facility in the middle of a benign peaceful little ranch? Yeah, that was probably the most surprising thing Wash had learned to-date. Surprising but handy. “Is this Danger Room common knowledge?” He asked. “And can, like, anyone come here to train? What if they’re a part of the net but don’t, you know, have any powers or special weapons.” Yet. So far all Wash’s Dreams had felt necessary to give him was a skateboard, but there was enough high-tech sci-fi-esque stuff flying around that eventually a piece of that would travel from that world to this. However it was that actually happened. “And what about the kids?” Wash asked next. “Do they know it’s here? Are any of them…” how to ask this? “...experiencing the same stuff we are? If they are - or even if they aren’t - how do we protect them?” He was thinking of the storm again. How it had caused panic within the county. He thought of his own rage filled insanity that had overtaken his life for a week. He could fight physical things, but how could someone fight that?! And if he couldn’t fight it, how could he expect to keep anyone safe? A lot of questions, but all good ones - and Neal would answer them as best as he was able to and with honesty. “The kids don’t know, we sort of keep that separate from Valarnet antics - that seems to be the key, the network. If people stay away from the network, they don’t dream,” he said. Of course, Henry knew everything but things with his own kid (whom Neal dreamed of anyway) were different - he took it well, he had come here from Boston and dove right into the crazy. But not everyone would be like that. “If you want to practice in the Danger Room, you can.” He rubbed the back of his neck, pausing when Wash did. It was warm outside, but Neal didn’t mind it so much - doing work in the fresh air kept him grounded, in a way. He liked a little sweat and hard labor. “There are a lot of training simulations, I think. Many people who work here are ‘in’ on the strange turns this particular county seem to take, others aren’t. We do the best we can, and we do everything we can to keep them safe. Honestly, it’s not usually this bad - or as bad as it’s been lately. I’ve been here over a year, and have become adept at rolling with the punches.” It was something of bittersweet relief to hear that recent events were not the normal run-of-the-mill shenanigans that usually happened to the “special” residents of Orange County. And it was true. It seemed that only the people who had actually joined the network really experienced the chaos first hand or had it affect them deeply. Not for the first time Wash wondered what the connection was and why. The truly maddening thing was they would probably never have the answer to either what or why. Wash let out a breath and shook his head. He started walking again, running a hand through his dirty blond hair. “Sorry, its just that...you know...kids.” His hand came to rest on the back of his neck. He really wanted access to the Danger Room. He was a capable soldier, and even a capable agent in his Dreams, but he was no where near where he thought he should be, particularly when compared to his former unit members - his fellow agents. If things continued the way they were currently, he needed all the training he could get. As long as he got the job, that is. “Do you have any questions for me?” He asked Neal. This was supposed to be a kind of interview and Wash had managed to take-it over with his onslaught of questions. Neal understood. He had been in the shoes of these kids before, and that meant he’d do everything he could to help them improve, to better themselves, and he believed in them. The last thing they needed was to be saddled with the same crap that those who unfortunately dreamed dealt with - this was a place for them to learn and grow, and then they’d move on hopefully all the better for it. “Well,” he started walking too, hands loosely slung in the front pockets of his jeans, fingertips tucked in. “What kind of schedule would you want? We’ve got full-timers and part-timers, and also volunteers. But the ranch hand work is paid, obviously. And I work two jobs, personally, I’ve got this and also a part-time gig so I can work around your schedule. Most of the work is in the early morning, going into the afternoon, but like I said - depends what you’re looking for.” Early mornings were something of a problem for Wash. It had taken him three bus lines to get here and more than half the day. He frowned slightly. “I don’t have a car, right now.” Wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass. To lose the job because he didn’t have his own mode of transportation. “If you have anything in the afternoon, I can do that. At least until I’m able to get a car. I’m also looking to get a second job to, you know, keep me busy.” Really as busy as possible. It was important to stay busy, stay useful. Because those dark thoughts were hard to avoid and the Dreams weren’t making it any easier. Neal was easygoing - his smile reflected as much, so it was really no big deal to him when the newest member of the crew wanted to work. There were people to cover every shift, so it was fine. “Afternoon’s good, don’t worry,” he promised. “Like I said, there’s always something going on - it’s not like you’d run out of things to do. I’d give you a list at first, maybe shadow a little, and then once you get used to everything you can go off on your own and get it all done.” Since the days were going to be shorter, maybe it also wouldn’t involve baking in the hot sun as long too - running a ranch was about upkeep and maintenance and stepping outside the box to get shit done. “Honestly? Self-starter, motivated, takes pride in your work? That’s really all we want. If you want to come on board, we’ll be glad to have you.” Neal’s easy smile put Wash’s mind a bit at ease. His shoulders relaxed and his hand fell away from his neck. A smile spread across his face. “Yeah? That’s awesome! Thank you so much.” He offered his hand to Neal. He could do the whole shadow thing no problem. Get a feel for what life on a ranch was like, what it meant. He’d be working outside, which was what he wanted to do. And he’d be doing something important, something meaningful. It was almost too good to be true. Maybe later this evening when he was alone in his apartment, he’d start wondering when the other shoe would drop, but right now he’d let himself be happy, proud even. Still grinning he asked Neal, “when do you want me to start?” Neal shook Wash’s hand, pleased that the guy seemed excited about coming to work at the outreach center - hopefully he would ease into it and really enjoy it, but it seemed like he’d be a good fit for the place. That was important (and let it be known that Cassidy was a really good judge of character - one of his quirks, coming from a former youthful life of crime). “No problem, welcome to the ranch family,” he laughed a little. “As for when to start, well, since you’re here? I’ll show you a few things right now.” No time like the present to really dig in and learn the ropes; they’d probably be busy until the sun set, and tomorrow would be a brand new day. |