Guts, Rearranged {INCOMPLETE}

Chapter 16 =Indoctrinate=

Otto's Cabin appears to swell with anticipation, every splinter in its wood watching them with sharp eyes as they approach a garden surrounding Carlton's shack. Maggie looks at the beds with awe, neatly tucked rows of dark healthy soil holds a beautiful array of vegetables with a standing knit wall of dried bamboo sticking up from the ground at the back. It's crevices are infected with fat vines baring arrays of juicy black grapes, daintily holding their bunches for collection despite their heavy appearance.

"I'm sorry to have roped you into all this." Otto apologises and shakes out an upturned bucket that had been hiding behind a corner of the shack. He watches her marvel at it all with a smile, Carlton's Garden always having been an impressing feature of the woods, even to him.

"He grew all this?" Afraid of somehow disturbing the produce with her volume, she keeps her voice quiet. Carefully, she steps around the sleeping plants and approaches the season-defying grapevines, the vines stand proud as she stares. He approaches, his path reckless compared to her dainty choice.

"He did, it comes in handy for the orders, any scraps we have are snapped up for fertilizer." Otto studies the free forming berries as he talks, reaching up to lightly squeeze a couple less-appealing orbs.

"He's like some kind of helicopter parent with it all. Inside he has a lamp he uses to heat them during the colder seasons, always careful not to let anything die off." She joins him in inspecting the grapes as they pick together. He hadn't given any specifics on what he deemed a good grape, so she tried her best, occasionally glimpsing an amused smile from her peripheral.

He'd told her next-to-nothing about their business there, merely that Carlton was busy and he needed help with a couple things. She was more than happy to lend a hand, having been curious in what they do for their food anyway. Seeing Otto suddenly back to his cheerful self after he's been a stressed monster for the past week was a welcome change, one she felt herself happy to bask in. She'd take years to admit it, but she had missed his always-smiling disposition. It had made her relax when she finally saw him smiling again when he asked for her help, not noticing that his anxiety and stress had infected her after being near it for so long.

"That should be good, we aren't after a lot." Looking down at what they had grabbed, their pickings were so sparse that you could still see the bottom of the small basket when he called for them to stop. Otto leads her away from the mess of vines, not looking the least bit different by way of grape count. He keeps with his less-than-careful steps while she practically dances behind him, almost falling multiple times in the process.

"Was that it?" Her inquiry makes him laugh and she looks at him curiously. She watches as he shoves open the door to Carlton's shack and leans in, placing the basket beside the door. He shakes his head with an amused expression while he produces a lock from his pocket and secures the shack.

"I have some mince inside that needs to be made into sausages, it's one of the last things from this big order we got." He says as they begin the trudge through the trees back up to his cabin, it's windows glowing in the darkening woods with the warm white of the lamps. "Are you okay to keep going or did the grapes knock a bit out of you?" She rolls her eyes as another deep chuckle is heard from him. She showed up to help, not to be made fun of like this. As they approach the porch, Otto stops and hands her the keys to his truck.

"Can you get my wallet for me? I'll meet you inside." She takes the keys with a nod and a smile, splitting into the other direction. "It's somewhere at the front." He explains, watching her walk away for a moment.

He steps up onto his porch and shuffles his shoes off at the front door before kicking them to the side. Nudging his side against the doorhandle, his shirt catching and pulling it down for him. After stepping in, he nudges the door shut once more with his foot as he balances himself to look out his window at her. He vaguely sees her finish up her search through the windscreen of his truck and make her way out. He's brought out of his people watching by the smell of open seasonings he had left on his counter; with a small smile he makes his way into the kitchen to retrieve the freshly minced meat. The noise of the door opening and closing comes to his ears, he turns with two covered bowls in his hands, an appreciative smile ready for her.