A Very Useful vision (no it's not)

[ninjayeehaw]

Had a' nightmare just before, one a' those visions a' the future kind.

Only there weren't nothin' to it. Couldn't see nothin' through some goddamn blizzard, but I could hear cattle nearby.

An' that was it.

[And he sounds vaguely offended. How dare he get traumatised for such a useless vision.]

's'makin' me wonder if we're gonna be dealin' with those cows personally, though.

Comments

[vrepit_no]

[Aw man...]

A blizzard, huh. In cow country. [Sigh.] Guess we'd better start stocking up on cold-weather gear.

[ninjayeehaw]

Frankly I'm more concerned 'bout how many folks here know how t'drive cattle. I reckon I can keep up a hurricane big enough t'keep a solid chunk a' the snow back, but it ain't gonna do much good if the herd goes sideways.

[vrepit_no]

...Is it hard? I didn't think cows were known for their intelligence, exactly.

[Sorry, Kaltenecker.]

[ninjayeehaw]

[He'd be offended if he didn't know Shiro literally did not have any clue about cows.

...he suspects a fair few Travellers don't.]

Let's say a herd's forty heads strong - that's forty tons a' cow goin' twenty miles an hour, minimum. Intelligence is one thing but momentum's a real killer.

[vrepit_no]

Alright, that's a fair point. So we need to organize ranch-hand training before we get flung into the Jaunt. How do you want to do that? We've got singing horses.

[ninjayeehaw]

Find the ones that ain't gonna buck folks off, saddle 'em up and get folks on learnin' how t'steer 'em with one hand. I used t'switch 'tween usin' an ATV an' horseback, but since we don't got the first the second's gotta do.

[vrepit_no]

We have a couple of hoverbikes, and a few actual horses I think. Jean has a stable with three or four there. Plus I think there are some people who could either make parts or whole sections of ATVs and put them together if we need a fleet. Tell us what you need.

[ninjayeehaw]

Given the kinds a' time periods we done Travelled through so far, ain't a safe bet t'go assumin' that ATVs're even gonna exist fer this one. Ranchin' goes back pretty far. [But horses, at least, are always horses.]

Most 'f everythin' I can think off on the fly's just gonna be learnin' things, not makin' em. I can make a set a' tackle easy enough: saddle an' reins an' such - ain't got the power t'do more'n one, though, it's pretty big. Different t'normal tack that most people're gonna be used to, too. People're gonna have t'learn t'neck rein, steerin' yer horse with one hand cos y'need the other free. An' all that's before I even go thinkin' about bringin' cows into this. Like we've even got any t'practise on.

[helborn]

... Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever seen a cow in person in my entire life.

Is... dealing with cows rough?

[ninjayeehaw]

[yeah he can't say he's surprised]

There's a reason there's an entire line a' work surroundin' 'em, fer starters. An' that's just fer herdin' the damn things.

[verdeleonessa]

Where's Lance when we need him...

[ninjayeehaw]

One a' yer team do a little rustlin', then?

[verdeleonessa]

He's just real good with cows. He takes care of our cow Kaltenecker back at the castle...

[ninjayeehaw]

Hah. This sounded like a whole heap more'n one, I'm sure a' that much. Still, every little bit helps.

...or would've, if he were here. Y'all pick any tips up from him?

[helborn]

I'm from a city, okay.

But yeah I... guess that's true. Do they respond to dogs? Oh, maybe I can help out in my husky form! There was a movie where a pig did it, too.

[Casper we are not recreating Babe.]

[ninjayeehaw]

...

[he is squinting so hard at someone herding with pigs okay also Babe herded sheep]

I think I'd rather stick with horses. Dogs'll be useful too, I don't doubt I'll end up gettin' Rodeo out there, but it's a might bit dangerous. Step wrong an' a metric ton a' cow's steppin' on ya.

[helborn]

[It's been a while since both Casper and Matt have seen that movie.]

I mean, I'll probably be fine. But is it likely to be a problem?

... Also where would we even be going that cows show up in a nightmare like that?

[flatteries]

Do you usually not see anything in those sort of dreams?

[ Because that sounds pretty odd for something that's supposed to be prophetic. ]

[ninjayeehaw]

It's somethin' a few 'f us picked up a couple jaunts back. Horrifyin' visions a' the future that don't necessarily gotta make sense 'til after the fact. An' that's dependin' on if they're even a thing that's literally gonna happen.

[butthemiracleneverhappen]

Perhaps the first time in your illustrious Traveller career where your cowboy training is more useful than your ninjutsu.

How does one get into the wrangling business, anyway? And this does make the presence of horses a... little more on-the-nose, if true.

[vrepit_no]

We could use the near-visible horses... Or maybe ask Rodeo to give us a hand?

[ninjayeehaw]

Y'know what, despite the name I ain't too sure he's seen a cow that ain't some sort a' Pogemon neither.

[vrepit_no]

So no pretending to be a cow, then.

[Private]

[vrepit_no]

[Suddenly he sounds grave and uneasy.]

Kinji... it just occurred to me. Are there going to be whips involved?

[ninjayeehaw]

If we're turnin' into cows ourselves, least I know how t'catch cowboys off-guard, too.

[Private]

[He meets Shiro's tone in private.]

'fraid so, Shiro. One a' the main tools 'f the trade, ain't no real escapin' 'em. Mostly they're fer scarin' cattle in the right direction, a good whip crack's louder than anyone can shout.