[open] out of the blue and into the black

[5055034455]

Date & Time: Throughout August
Location: Around Exsilium
Characters: Saul & TBA
Summary: A catch-all log for Saul's many business etc. meetings throughout the month. Again.
Warnings: N/A; will be updated accordingly.

[The more time Saul spends in Exsilium, the more he realizes he misses Albuquerque. And the more he misses Albuquerque, the more he realizes what he's missing isn't so much ABQ itself, but the idealized version of the city he's constructed in his head over the past four and a half months where nothing mattered but his business and his life and it was all hunky-dory, for the most part.

And then he thinks, shit. Four and a half months. Damn.

Albuquerque was perfect. People came and went, sure, but not at the same rate they do here. Back home, all Saul anticipated on the first of every month was the flipping of a calendar page. (National Geographic's American Landmarks calendar, to be precise. Francesca gets — used to get — him one every year. August would have been a photo of the Alamo at sunset, if he remembers correctly. Ha.) But here — here, each new month brings a horde of unhappy newbies and random disappearances, and there's really only so much doom and gloom Saul can take before it really starts getting to him. He used to be able to track people down. Here? He's helpless.

He misses the sunshine, all 300+ days of it. The Initiative-sponsored trip to the beach was nice, but his tan's already faded and he's pretty sure he's developing some kind of vitamin D problem. He also misses the security of having a boatload of money sitting in his wall. He misses a lot of things. Even the dust storms.

At least he has Jesse. But he can't really cling to Jesse with Walter hanging around, and then there's the problem of Jesse not wanting to be clung to in the first place. Saul can hear that stupid kid's voice in his head just thinking about it: You don't need me, yo. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. Right now, it feels like the former. It hasn't stopped feeling that way since April.

Anyway, here's the weird thing: much as he misses home, Walter's presence has made it crystal clear to Saul that he absolutely does not want to go back to that mess. Not now, maybe not ever. He has a bad feeling, and he likes to think he's a pretty intuitive guy — nine times out of ten, his gut's right. Sometimes it's indigestion. But those are odds you don't mess with, and the chow here is just bland enough that it's much easier on his stomach than all that Mexican food.



Somehow, he got it in his head that the more he does in and for this place, the less likely it is that he'll see the sunshine and his money and his calendar and all that dust again, so he's twice as busy this month as he was last month. Three times, maybe. Training, yes; doing business, yes; fueling up on caffeine, hell yes. But August has the added bonus of new things that need caring for: his kitten. His girlfriend. His stupid-as-shit-in-hindsight idea of forming a Transport-run government.

He'd wonder what he was thinking, but he already knows. Better to burn out than fade away, right?]

Comments

[quackery]

[Despite having to wander through the dreary streets and the rain to arrive there, the library is one of her favorite places to visit. It provides a distraction from the way things are here, and that's reason enough to visit often. Seeing a familiar face is an added bonus, and she wanders over, curious (and nosy).]

What're you looking for? Something good?

[5055034455]

[He turns, already smiling, from the stack he's been staring at — a huge section on religion — when he hears her. Then he reaches out and pokes her nose.

Yeah, Ahiru. That just happened.]

Yup. Found it. What's up, kiddo?

[quackery]

[Saul, why are you like this. She brings a hand up to her nose, surprised, with a blink.]

What was that for? I was just asking what book you were looking for!

[5055034455]

That is not what you asked me.

[Technically.

ahiru y so cute]

[quackery]

That's, like, really similar to what I was asking! And you didn't answer my question!

[Sigh!!]

You're weird.

[5055034455]

See? Specificity is important.

[#life lessons with saul goodman]

Which question am I supposed to answer? You asked me two. Three, actually.

[quackery]

Just answer all of them! Why would I ask any of them if I didn't want an answer?

[She crosses her arms with a sigh.]

[5055034455]

I was just browsing, so I can't tell you if what I was looking for is good or not, this — [he pokes her nose again, then grins] — is because I felt like it, and people don't always want answers to the questions they ask, like: how are you?

[quackery]

Well, what were you looking for then? And - stop doing that! Stop.

[With a frown, she reaches up to press her finger to his nose in turn.]

And why would anybody ask something they don't want the answer to? That makes no sense.

[5055034455]

[oh my god

did part of saul's cold, shriveled lawyer heart just explode

I think it did

He makes a face and swats at her hand.]

Because people are dicks, Ahiru.

[quackery]

[And she swats back like the super mature person she is.]

They are not, at least not most of them! And don't use words like that. And you still didn't tell me what you were looking for.

[5055034455]

[So rude!!]

I can't tell you what I was looking for because I don't know what I was looking for! I was browsing. What are you looking for?

[quackery]

I'm not looking for anything right now, I'm talking to you and trying to stop you from poking my nose. What were you browsing?

[5055034455]

[Saul decides to pull a Vanna White, except with more jazz hands: he outstretches his arms to indicate the nearest shelf.]

Books!

[...she asked.]

[quackery]

I meant what kind of books and you knew it!

[5055034455]

The kind you read.

[kick him in the shin

do it]

[quackery]

Those are the only kinds of books there are!

[tempting........]

[5055034455]

Hm. Really? I mean, I wouldn't say picture books are things people read...

[quackery]

Picture books still have words in them!

[5055034455]

Are you sure?

[It's been a long time since Saul's seen a picture book.

A LONG TIME.]

[quackery]

Yes! They're what little kids use to learn how to read.

[5055034455]

I don't believe you. Maybe if you find one and show me...

[Kind of like a scavenger hunt!

Except not fun!

And he totally believes her and knows exactly what she's talking about.

For the record.]

[quackery]

[saul pls]

Why can't you find one on your own?

[5055034455]

Because you're my Igor, remember? That's how this works.

[quackery]

I don't even know what Igor is! You never told me! And I'm not your anything.