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[nostalgiabomb]

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[nostalgiabomb]

You're the guy who said me bein' nice is gonna bite me in the ass, right? Not gonna try to talk me out of it, are you?

[saxual]

I just wanna make sure that this isn't gonna bite me in the ass.

[nostalgiabomb]

Hey. I'm a decent enough guy. I'm not the one turning brains to mush by playing, like, a C-sharp.

[saxual]

[ It's an "A", but Midvalley isn't going to argue that point. Not when this guy offered to get him out of here ]

And the people you're flyin' with?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter purses his lips. Then, ]

They're decent. Ish. [ He pauses. ] You'll probably fit right in.

[saxual]

If that was meant to be reassuring, it's really not.

[ but he's kept company with much, much worse than whatever this guy can throw at him ]

Where are you docked?

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter gives him the location of the dock -- which, well, is more or less the only dock in the area. ]

If you wanna hang around there while I collect that dickwad's bounty, feel free. Others shouldn't be back to the ship for a while, so you don't have to awkwardly explain why you're just hanging out, and they don't have to awkwardly apologize for breaking your arm or your spine or blowing you up or whatever.

[ Star-Lord is the best at reassurances. ]

[saxual]

Sounds like a stand-up group you run with. How about I just meet you by the dock?

[ Midvalley practically lives out of a suitcase anyway, in case things go to hell and he has to leave at a moment's notice, and he'd like to swing by his room and grab his stuff. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He gives him a quick salute as he's heading out. Peter's pretty confident that the guy isn't going to try and steal his ship. Even if he does try, Rocket has a shitton of failsafes in place -- some of which Peter doesn't even know about -- so he's pretty comfortable in leaving it on its own. ]

Try not to melt anyone's eyeballs out of their head between here and there, okay?

[saxual]

No promises.

[ He offers a slight smirk before the two go their separate ways. It doesn't take Midvalley long to gather what little he has by the way of possessions and head to the dock. (There seems to be only one ship there- not surprising, considering it's a smaller town- so he has no trouble figuring out what he'll be leaving on.)

It's... probably a good thing he decided to wait, somewhere nearby but out of the way, as Peter's companions arrive sooner than he thought they would. He watches them board the ship, one by one, and he's a little astonished at the variety between so few people. (Creatures? The last two look like creatures.) Sure, the people around here could be fucking weird, but these guys took the cake.

When he spots Peter, he moves over to join the other man, giving a little wave.

And it's about at that point that there's the crack of gunfire, and a bullet whizzes through the space between them. Midvalley whirls to face the place where the gunfire came from to find the bartender and a handful of sheriff's deputies.

I told you that's him! the barkeep barks, That's the Hornfreak! ]

Fuck. We need to go, now.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The bounty, as it turns out, was substantial enough that he didn't feel like a total goober for offering the guy a ride. So with his pockets a few units heavier, he returns back to the ship. The others had contacted him, let him know they were headed back, so-- he warned them. "We've got a hitchhiker. He probably won't kill us all."

"... That's not reassuring, Quill."

They stopped complaining when he told them how much the dude had offered. (A small white lie, granted, but in a way, the guy did give Peter the bounty, so it works out.) When he returns to the ship, finally, he's surprised to see that the musician hadn't just made his way on board when the others came back, but-- well. Drax and Groot are pretty intimidating on their own, even without knowing how deadly Gamora is or how seriously twisted Rocket is. So probably for the best that Peter's there to provide a buffer.

But then there are cops and shooting and what the fuck is a Hornfreak? Is that this guy's outlaw name? Wow. But it's too late to start asking questions, because Peter's guilty by association, and he grabs the musician by his white lapels, shoves him ahead of himself through the Milano's bay doors. He starts shouting as soon as he slams the button to shut the doors behind them. ]

Rocket! Gamora! Get us moving! Drax, Groot-- watch the doors! [ It's a testament to their lifestyle that when one of them starts shouting like that, they know that something's gone wrong. And if something's gone wrong, the local law enforcement is involved. And none of them like jail, so they hop to it. The Milano roars to life while the sheriffs are pounding on the hull of the ship and shouting. A few moments later, they lift off, and with the threat of someone busting into the ship gone, Peter crowds into Midvalley's space. ]

You. Start talkin'.

[saxual]

[ Midvalley takes a step backwards, back pressing against the wall, hands up ]

What the hell do you even wanna know? You pretty much figured it out already.

[nostalgiabomb]

I figured maybe you got in over your head on a few bounties. Clear enough that's happened to me. Maybe you killed the wrong dude, got the cops pissed, whatever. Shit happens.

What doesn't add up is why a bartender is shittin' himself one second, and yet he still has mind enough to bring the sherrifs down on your head -- or why they decided to shoot first, ask questions later. Just what kinda baggage are we dealin' with, here, Hornfreak?

[saxual]

[ He's got half a mind to tell this guy to back the fuck off, but this is his ship and these are his friends. That would be a stupid-ass move. ]

It's baggage that isn't gonna mean shit once we get off this goddamn planet, all right?

I used to run with a team of assassins. We were put together by some freak of nature who wanted us to take out his brother. Things got bad- real bad, catastrophic, end of the world bad- and I'm pretty sure I'm the last 'Gun standing.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ It's not like Peter can call him on it, really. He's got the galaxy's best assassin sitting in the pilot's chair. Two wanted bounty hunters setting up shop in his cargo hold. A murderer sharpening knives in the kitchen.

So "team of assassins" isn't as scary as it should be. That the guy claims he's not wanted anywhere else is another plus, so some of Peter's anger drains away to frustration. ]

You're absolutely sure you're not wanted anywhere else? We're not gonna have to dodge cops until we drop you off?

[saxual]

Positive. The planet was totally isolated until recently- no space travel, no contact, nothing- which means isolated incidents. My bounty begins and ends on [ Gunsmoke No Man's Land Gunsmoke God fucking dammit Nightow fine I'll play your game ] No Man's Land.

fuck i laughed

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He fixes Midvalley with another long stare, eyes narrowed and brow furrowed. ]

So you were an assassin on No Man's Land. What about now? What's your plan?

<3

[saxual]

If I'm being totally honest, I don't have one. But anywhere's better than there.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter's silent for a long moment, just watching him-- before he lets out a long breath. He's clearly still frustrated, but he's not as pissed as he was just a moment ago. ]

Alright, then. [ He gestures with a wave toward the narrow hallway to the side. ] Get yourself settled in the empty room. That'll be your bunk. I've gotta explain what the hell that was about to the others.

[saxual]

[ It's at that point that Midvalley finally steps away from the wall, letting out a small sign of relief. ]

Thanks. [ he nearly turns to go, but he pauses ] Name's Midvalley, by the way.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He pauses at the introduction, as well, and nods in return. ] Peter Quill. I'll introduce you to the rest of the guys as long as they don't tear my head off.

[ With that he heads up to the cockpit to explain the situation to Rocket and Gamora -- and thank God they're together, so he doesn't have to deal with having this argument twice. ]

[saxual]

[ "Peter Quill". What a surprisingly normal name. He half expected people from other planets to have bizarre spaceman names, whatever that meant.

Still, he heads to the empty room as directed, stowing his meager belongings. It's hard to make out most of it, thanks to the buzzing of the ship's systems, but he leans against the doorframe head tilted just so, to see if he can make out bits of the conversation taking place in the cockpit. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ The conversation is mostly a lot of outraged yelling, though it may be indistinct, and eventually Drax and Groot crowd into the space to find out just what everyone's pissed about.

And then Peter makes the very salient point that the five of them aren't exactly angels themselves, that they all had a chance to figure their shit out, so why would this guy be any different? (Sure, Peter is having second thoughts about letting this guy aboard, and while he might not believe 100% the shit he's saying, he realizes it'd be shitty of them to decide that a former criminal shouldn't get the chance to get the hell out of that life.)

Eventually they all begrudgingly agree to let the guy stay at least until their next stop for fuel; in the meanwhile, they'll all keep an eye on him, make sure he doesn't try to liquefy their brains with his sax. (Oh, by the way, that's a thing he can do. Groot's probably safe, though. Rocket adds, Drax, too, to Gamora and Peter's reluctant snickers. Drax just assumes he means he is stronger than the musician's tricks and seems pleased.)

It's several minutes later before Peter shows up in the doorway of Midvalley's room, knocking on the frame. He pulls a hand through his hair. ]

So, uh. I'm pretty sure I convinced 'em not to jump you in your sleep and chuck you out the airlock.

[saxual]

[ From what he can gather, it's going about how he expected, given all that's happened. As long as they agree he can hitch a ride, he doesn't really care. He's not here to make friends, just to put as much distance between him and Gunsmoke No Man's Land as possible.

So by the time Peter makes his way back down, Midvalley's lounging on his bunk, idly whistling a little tune as he stares at the ceiling. ]

That's good to hear. I'll do my best to stay out of the way in case anybody changes their mind.

Interesting group of buddies you got.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter laughs at that. ]

Yeah, you've got a real gift for understatement, dude.

Drax is the big guy. Doesn't wear shirts -- don't let it bother you. The tree is Groot. He's-- not much of a conversationalist. Rocket's the little furry guy. Don't, uh, bring that up. He's just Rocket. And Gamora is the green lady. She knows a at least five hundred different ways to kill you with a pair of tweezers, so try not to piss her off.