toplvl | hitchin'

[Could be canon era where you flag down this guy riding horseback (or modern lol), or modern where a worn but cared for covered pickup stops for you and yes that's definitely a shotgun on the ceiling. 20+ only for shippy stuff, OTA otherwise]

Eli wasn't an idiot. He'd been told from a young age about the dangers of hitchhiking. He'd seen the true crime dramas on tv. But, like the Outback, the American west was enormous and hitchhiking beat trying to walk through a lot of still untamed wilderness for days on end. In addition to the usual dangers, there was also the fact that he himself was a wanted man, and he could never be sure who might recognize him. Still, he'd take his chances with people over bears, wolves, and mountain lions.

It was getting late, sun was starting to go down, and he'd had no luck thus far - apparently the few cars that had been on this lonely stretch of road had seen those true crime shows too.]

Come on...

[He stuck his thumb out once more as an older truck approached.]

(ooc: Eli is a Marvel OC, his info is on his page, can take him from anywhere in his timeline. Good for shippy or gen.)

Arthur was no stranger to these long silent roads, didn't mind them in the least neither. Sometimes he'd pull off the road and stop for a smoke, turn off his lights and look up at the sky, enjoying the view that was stagnated in more populated areas.

He still had a few hours before he made it to the motel so he snuffed out his cigarette under his boot and climbed back into the truck to keep on going. He hadn't been back on the road for half an hour when he spotted something in the growing dark.

Knowing full well the next town was quite a walk out here, he slowed down and looked out at the stranger. "Hey there, need a lift?" he asked. The truck was towing a horse trailer but there wasn't anything inside it at the moment.

[Open to either too, anything shippy is 20+ though]

“He’s actually stopping!” Eli exclaimed to himself as he saw the truck slow down. He lowered his arm and waited as the truck rolled to a stop near him.

“Yes sir.” He couldn’t hide a smile; he was worried he was about to have to find a sense of shelter for the night out here. He moved a hand to the passenger side door handle, his eyes shifting to the stranger to read his body language and facial expressions to make sure it was okay, before he climbed up into the truck. “Thank you, was getting worried with the sun going down.” He looked the truck over. Cigarette smoke lingered in the air, not heavy, but noticeable. Truck looked pretty standard, seats was comfortable at the least and he wasn’t out in the wind anymore either. His eyes did catch the shotgun over his head; kneejerk nervousness was pushed aside. Eli told himself that the guy was probably just a rancher, and not some Texas Chainsaw Massacre psychopath or something. “Oh, I’m Eli.” He went for a handshake.

(ooc: Can take him from later in his timeline then and see where things go.)

Arthur unlocked the door and let the young man climb in, moving his beat up black Stetson off the seat and tossing it in the back. "I'm Arthur" he greeted, friendly it seemed as he shook his hand, his grip solid and a bit rough from outdoor work. "I'm headed to the motel in Valentine, can take you at least that far if that's okay." he said

The truck smelled of tobacco, hay, and horses, the radio was on with his phone jacked in on a personal playlist that seemed comprised of sea shanties and country music.

He noted the glance to the gun. "Just for horse robbers. Be surprised at how many people try to steal them" he chuckled and began to drive again, the purple and orange of the sunset silhouetting the few trees and telephone poles ahead of them.

He had know idea where Valentine was or what it was like, but he was all for it. "Valentine. Sounds great." He didn't have a lot of money on him, but hopefully enough for a motel room and some food.

A bit of a sheepish smile crossed his face as Arthur noticed him looking up at the gun. "So you're a rancher?" As he'd assumed.

The music wasn't anything he'd typically listen to, yet he did find it strangely relaxing in its own way. "I take it you're not from Valentine either then?" Since he was heading for the motel after all. He had stuffed his pack between his legs on the floor and opened it up to pull out a water bottle. Not wanting to be rude to his driver, he held one out to Arthur in offering as well.

"Nah, spit mud town, not much in it except the basics." he said "But yea, got a place up north, just sold off a couple horses, heading home but its a few days away so, motel hoppin' is necessary."

He declined the water, indicating an already opened one in the left side cupholder, but thanked him all the same.

"What about you? What you doin' way out here?" he asked, turning his music down so they could talk.

Spit mud town, Eli repeated the words in his head, enjoying the other's vernacular. He put the extra water bottle away, pausing before answering the question. "Oh, I've just been traveling across America. You know, meeting new people." He left out the part of trying to avoid the authorities.

"Can't afford a car?" Arthur asked "Don't get me wrong, I enjoy taking my time over the country but walkin' is rough, especially out here"

If the weather didn't get you, the wildlife could be pretty unforgiving. Snakes, pumas, bears in the less flat areas, also the locals of course. He didn't have his gun purely to keep horse hustlers away.

"Hm? A ca? No." he looked out the window as the sun was vanishing over the horizon and the stars were beginning to appear in the darkening blue sky above. "I typically stick to cities. Buses, Uber. But, not really an option out here." If he really wanted to, he could have attempted to settle long enough to buy a car, and he had honestly considered stealing one on more than one occasion; he was already a wanted man, so grand theft auto didn't seem like that big of a deal. Still, it had apparently been enough to keep him from actually going through with it.

"I've been pretty lucky so far though, most everyone I've met has been really nice."

"Yea ain't seen an uber in years." he chuckled. He went to the city when he needed to but...he didn't often need to considering all his supplies were orderable either right to his ranch or to the local store to pick up. "Well I hope that streak don't run out."

Up to speed, he put the cruise control on, enabling him to just focus on keeping the truck on the road, eyes wandering to the sky. Always a beautiful sight, seeing the sky shift like that.

"So, the motel in Valentine, you've stayed there before?" Honestly, he wasn't in the least bit picky when it came to accommodations; just about any bed beat no bed. Eli was just trying to carry on their conversation. Being on the run, he did meet all sorts of different people across all types of walks of life. The cowboy, as he was referring to Arthur now in his thoughts, seemed like the strong silent type. And yes, he did find himself checking the stranger out periodically as they made their way down the long empty road.

"Yea its a nice midway point. Nothin' glamourous but even a simple bed and hot shower after a long ride is better than nappin' in the car overnight." he said

He pretty much was considering what he did and how he dressed, though he didn't drive cattle, not much need for it these days anyway.

"Where you from? Northeast?" he asked

Arthur definitely wasn't wrong; sleeping in a car overnight was pretty awful - too hot, too cold, feeling like a cop might knock on your window, or a stranger could break in and hurt you or at least rob you - all reasons not to do it if possible.

"Oh, heh, actually I'm originally from Sydney. Australia that is. But, guess I've been in the states long enough to have lost my accent." He did tend to stick to the northeast; big cities, coastline.

Accounted for the subtle accent.

"Quite a ways" he nodded, popping the headlights on as it grew too dark to see the road.

"Sounds like you've been hitchin' for awhile"

"One way or another, yeah." His mind rushing through a series of flashbacks over the last couple years. "Settling down can be-" about to say troublesome, then problematic but decided instead to change his sentence altogether, "-it isn't really for me."

He took another drink of his water and looked out across the open road they were heading down. "Really quiet out here." There were no signs of other cars, and prior to seeing Arthur's, he hadn't seen very many others either.

"Yea, felt about the same way for a long while, doesn't pay enough though, so, sort of had to." That and a heap of medical bills forced him into settling in for some kind of consistent work.

"Not much for miles, prefer it that way to be honest." he said, "Concerning when you do come across someone. You wonder how they got there" he glanced pointedly to him but then chuckled then motioned to the sky. "Can see the Milky Way out this far without lights." he clicked the headlights off, plunging them into darkness but then when their eyes adjusted, the purple sky above seemed to alight with millions of stars already showing.

It revealed the almost completely flat landscape with distant blue hazy mountains and hills and the occasional scrub of a tree silhouetted against it.

"Oh, I understand. I'll settle for a little while, work odd jobs. Serving or bussing tables, bartender, barista, some other stuff from time to time."

He goes silent again, turning back to the window, but smiled as he clearly knew Arthur's statement was in regards to him being out there in the middle of nowhere. He might want an answer, but for now at least he's not getting one, instead he follows his motion to the sky.

"Whoa." Without any artificial lights around, the sky lit up and he found himself not wanting to blink. He stared up in awe at the beauty of it. "I can see why you don't want to leave sir."

"Arthur, or Mr. Morgan, don't need to be that formal." he said, turning the headlights back on.

"Ain't easy them jobs. Tried a couple, ended up punching a customer at one because he grabbed one of the teen girls. Management didn't like that much so they kicked me." he snorted dryly.

His temper could get the better of him when folk treated one another like piss.

Eli's vision was pulled back into the truck as the headlights came back on. He noted the correction and would try to be at least a little less formal.

"I, have definitely wanted to punch a few customers, or managers. Some of their expectations are really insane." Still, compared to what he'd endured in London and DC, a couple of upset diner patrons wasn't the worst thing.

"So this motel we're heading to, does it have one of those cool beds that shake when you put a quarter in a machine?" A relic of the past he'd come across at a few places he'd stayed at.

"Agreed. And not for very much money neither" he said, not in the least bit unhappy he left that sort of work behind.

"Ah, no, its dated but it ain't that dated" Arthur chuckled "Didn't even know them things were still around."

"Damn. Those are actually nice." Eli grins. Arthur's not wrong, finding a bed like that was very much a rarity. They drive on, the silence of the empty countryside at night surrounding them.

"Hey, um, thanks again. I, didn't realize how far out here I was." H definitely would have been camping, that or utilizing some other means of transportation.

"It's all right, just glad I could help." he said with a warm smile.

Within a few minutes, the lights of civilization came into view and Arthur pulled into the motel. He got out with a groan, back and shoulders cracking from the long drive and he moved his legs about, stiff from it all before gathering his things.

"Wanna go halvsies on a room?" he asked, guessing he didn't have much money and he was always looking to save a buck where he could.

Saving money was definitely a good idea for Eli. "Oh? Yeah, sure, that sounds like a good idea."

A few minutes later and they have a motel key and are headed inside. The motel was very standard. Clean, but the air inside was a bit stale - the motel didn't get a lot of business. Eli sat his bag down and sighed as he sat and then laid back on the bed.

A second later, he realized that there was only one bed. No couch or anything else even, just one full-size bed. He mentally shrugged it off, not thinking anything of it; but maybe Arthur wasn't comfortable with that. "If you want, I can go and get a separate room. I mean, I have been told that I tend to hog the covers."

Arthur dropped his bag and opened up a window, the night air was cool and even the town smelled better than the room did.

He dug through his things for clothes, intent on a shower as he'd been on the road for a few days, plus dealing with horses. Then noticed the lone bed. Could tell him to scoot, but...

"Up to you." he replied simply before disappearing into the bathroom to wash up.

The shower was tiny for him and more than once he bonked his head or an elbow-a muffled swear could be heard at one point-but the water was hot and at the end of the day that mattered more. He emerged, towel around his hips and stood in front of the mirror, running his fingers through his beard and decided to avoid shaving it for now. Arthur returned to the bathroom to put on a pair of red flannel pants before emerging, rubbing his hair with a small towel to dry it.

"All yours." he announced.

hitchin'

top level

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Arthur Morgan - Red Dead Redemption II

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