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Approbatio
Sept 17, 2014 13:54:44 GMT -6
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Post by kryss on Sept 17, 2014 13:54:44 GMT -6
May 13th, 2026 _________________________ Approbatio: Noun. Female. 1. approbation, giving approval 2. decision 3. proof, confirmation _________________________ Skylar: She sat in the passenger seat of the car, feet kicked up and scrolling rapidly through her iPod, looking for the soundtrack for their excursion. Lorna was finally letting her out! Maybe it had only been a week, but it felt like a month as she was cooped up every day, looking at water heaters and pipes and lightbulbs and this and that. It seemed that, since she had used some common sense, Lorna thought that she was some sort of mechanical, electrical genius. She had been able to fix some of it, others she wasn't. After pleading and begging, finally she was permitted to go on a supply run, admittedly with Conrad. She didn't mind though. The rabbit was fun to be around, and friendlier than Rick, even if the gruff man had been softening up oh so slightly lately. She found the song she wanted and wedged her player into the makeshift speakers she had fashioned out of a discarded tin can. "C'mon slow poke!" She cried to the boy who was still at the door. "Let's go!"
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 17, 2014 14:55:28 GMT -6
He didn't say anything to her at first. She could wait. Lorna was running him down on the area she wanted them to check out and was looking through his pack to make sure he got everything she thought he'd need. It might have been a week for Skylar, but it still hadn't been a month for Conrad either, and she was still wary. She just knew Skylar wouldn't listen.
"Alright, I've got it," he said as he thought she was winding down. She gave him an extra canteen of water before he exited the door, though.
"Good luck. And come back, alright?"
Conrad nodded and swallowed hard before he hopped down off the deck and went around to the driver's side of the car. Once in, he threw the backpack in the back seat and the canteen was soon to follow. He dug a crude map out of his pocket and glanced at it before shoving it back in the pocket and taking out the keys instead. The keys were in the ignition and his seat belt was on before he looked over at Skylar.
"Seat belt."
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Approbatio
Sept 17, 2014 16:02:39 GMT -6
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Post by kryss on Sept 17, 2014 16:02:39 GMT -6
Skylar: She very carefully did not roll her eyes and clipped the belt on.
"There are no cops out here, you know." She teased. She knew why a seatbelt was a good idea, but she got the feeling Conrad might be the kind of person to secretly be worried by cops. The leather knapsack Lorna had loaned we and Skylar had decided never to give back lay at her feet, which she quickly kicked up on the dashboard. She leaned over and pressed a button on the iPod. As the song began to blare out she settled back happily against the seat, ready to go. She figured that if Conrad wanted to talk to her, he knew by now that she wouldn't mind. Until them, though, she sang along to the song, although its volume was much louder than hers.
"LIFE IS A HIGHWAY, I WANNA RIDE IT ALL NIGHT LONG!"
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 17, 2014 16:18:29 GMT -6
"Oh my God," Conrad said as he started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. "You've gotta be kidding me." He knew he was speaking MUCH more quietly than the music was blaring, but he really had to say it for his own satisfaction. Skylar might have tried to be cool, but Conrad knew the truth: she was a huge dork.
He drove along, pulling out the map occasionally and very carefully not singing or humming along with anything. He didn't want to encourage her.
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Post by kryss on Sept 17, 2014 22:56:12 GMT -6
Skylar: Eventually the song ended and she let it roll onto the next one, glancing over at Conrad. He was alternating looking very seriously at the map and the road. She wiggled a little, getting comfortable with her feet still on the dashboard. She flicked open the water bottle that Lorna had given her (the clip long since repaired from a pair of strong pliers, some wire, a long yelling lecture from Rick about the state of the stove, and one extra large washer) and took a drink.
"So, where are we headed?" she said, trying to crane her neck to get a good look at the map. She hadn't even bothered asking, she was just too excited to get out of the house. And watching the scenery pass as they drove was good enough for her, really, but she was eager to get out and stretch her legs.
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Approbatio
Sept 17, 2014 23:46:24 GMT -6
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 17, 2014 23:46:24 GMT -6
"A small shopping district in another suburb of... whatever city we're closest to. Bismarck? Whatever. Looks like a couple grocery stores, a few clothing stores and a sports store. Maybe some other things."
He slowed at a fork in the road and checked the map again, taking a right when he looked back up.
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Approbatio
Sept 18, 2014 9:47:56 GMT -6
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Post by kryss on Sept 18, 2014 9:47:56 GMT -6
"Clothing stores?" She said with interest. She was getting tired of wearing the two shirts that fit her of Lorna's and she would kill for a decent pair of pants. The other things definitely sounded important, but she couldn't help it if that was what held her attention.
As Conrad finally announced they had arrived, she repositioned her hunting knife and the gun that Lorna had insisted she bring. She still wasn't a great shot, but she appreciated the firepower.
"Where to first?" She asked, "Or would you rather split up?"
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Approbatio
Sept 18, 2014 16:01:01 GMT -6
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 18, 2014 16:01:01 GMT -6
"Nooooo thanks. Nope. No splitting up. Never once in my life. Please no. We can go wherever but no splitting up, no siree." Conrad felt very strongly about never going anywhere alone ever. At least not yet. The thought gave him the shivers.
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Approbatio
Sept 18, 2014 16:21:37 GMT -6
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Post by kryss on Sept 18, 2014 16:21:37 GMT -6
Skylar: "Okay. Okay!" She said, laying a hand on Conrad's shoulder. "We don't have to split up. "She said earnestly. She looked over at the clothing stores, biting he lip. She sighed. Food was always most important, and they needed to hit the grocery stores first in case they had to leave in a hurry.
"Over there?" She said almost as a question, slinging her backpack over her shoulder and tilting her head in the direction if the store.
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 18, 2014 16:56:17 GMT -6
Conrad saw her glance toward the clothing stores and smiled a little.
"Actually, Mein Fuhrer sent us for clothing and weapons. Everything else is a second priority, so let's go." He nodded toward one of the clothing stores and started heading toward it. "She said she and Rick are good- something about her having clothes for both of them. But we need some, I guess." He had to admit that his cargo shorts had seen better days, and if they had under armor in the sports store he'd be set for life, probably. Especially since the stuff's usually crazy expensive so they usually have tons in the back.
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Approbatio
Sept 18, 2014 17:35:35 GMT -6
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Post by kryss on Sept 18, 2014 17:35:35 GMT -6
Skylar: "Not that one, this one!" She said, dragging him away from the store he had been heading toward and instead further down the strip into a Forever 21.
She hurried through the askew doors and bounced a little in happiness once she was inside. The store had already been looted pretty thoroughly, but apparently the previous scavengers hadnt been able to carry everything since there was still a decent amount of clothing left. Skylar darted toward a nearly empty rack of sundresses, her drawstrings flapping behind her.
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 18, 2014 17:43:45 GMT -6
Conrad frowned. What was he supposed to do in here, anyway? His nose wrinkled and he made his way in, looking around. Near the front he found some bodywash and other hygienic things- even nail clippers.
"I'm just gonna... be here, I guess," he said, looking through the boxes. Why were there so many owls? He had no problem with owls, but... come on.
"Who needs this many owls?" he said to no one in particular. Robots too. Those weren't bad, but then there was just TONS of this... Flowery stuff. He rolled his eyes and grabbed a Forever 21 bag from the front to start getting the hygiene stuff.
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Post by kryss on Sept 18, 2014 21:15:44 GMT -6
Skylar: "There's a guy's section too!" she said, walking over with lots of clothes stuffed in her arms. Shirts, pants, leggings, dresses, hats, clips, anything she could hold on to. She saw where he was and tried not to squeal. "Oh oh oh! Is that what I think it is???" she ran over and dumped the clothes on a cleared counter and grabbed a pink tube out of the very bottom of a bin. "It's their love and beauty lipgloss! No way!" She didn't have anything else to put on, but she grabbed one of the dresses out of the pile.
"Wait here." she said to Conrad, and took off for the dressing rooms. She slowed once she got there, listening very carefully. Not a peep. Good. She went into one of the stalls (They were convenient and there was a boy in the store.) Quickly she shucked her jacket and shirt and pants and put on the sundress, tying the ribbon straps around the back of her neck. She uncapped the lipgloss and carefully applied it. It still seemed good after all these months, and smelled and tasted like strawberries. Done, she pranced out of the room and over to Conrad.
"So? How do I look?" She personally felt amazing. It was the first time she was able to dress up in... well, a year. It wasn't that dressy, but a rose pink sundress with daisies printed on it. The ribbon straps tied to form a halter top. The waist was lower, and the skirt flowy and swishing around her knees. The lipgloss sparkled in the filtered sunlight, although it stood out as the only makeup on her. Still, she felt wonderful, grinning widely as she spun around, showing off.
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Post by ashestoApples on Sept 18, 2014 22:32:39 GMT -6
Conrad stared at her wide-eyed, probably giving her the exact reaction she was hoping for. He couldn't help it, okay, he was a nineteen year old boy and girls were few and far between.
"You... look great," he breathed, dropping the compact mirror he'd been trying to open to see what it was. He felt a blush creep up on his face and looked away quickly. "For real, really great. And... I don't think the boy's section here is... very much my... scene..." It was mostly sweaters, dress shirts, skinny jeans and hoodies with weird prints on them. And a few suits. Not like, super nice ones, but suit jackets and mis-matched pants since that was the fad at the time. He was pretty sure he'd be finding most of his clothes at a super general store and at the sports store.
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Post by kryss on Sept 19, 2014 0:32:05 GMT -6
Skylar: She grinned at him as he complimented her. It was good to have someone as nice as Conrad around. And as sensitive. She could easily be mistaken, but she thought she saw him blushing.
"Aw, that's too bad," she said to his comment about the boy's section. "Well, come on then, let's get this back to the car and we can head on over to the sports store." she said, hefting her stack of clothes. She trotted out to the parking lot, dumping it in the car. Once there she stopped and listened, looking around carefully. It seemed all was quiet on the western front. Hopefully no walkers would come along and spoil their outing. She felt like she had just gotten out here!
She turned and saluted Conrad clumsily.
"Lead the way, sir! Gotta see if they have camo green in your size, right?" she quipped as she skipped over to catch up with him.
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