candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 2, 2015 2:30:17 GMT -6
November 11th, 2026 _______________________
Absentis: Adj. 1.) Missing 2.) Away 3.) Gone _______________________ "H EY" "RASHAD!" "HEY! RASHAD" "CAN YOU HEAR ME?" He willed his body to pick itself up, but he quickly stumbled again. When he landed, the dirt was misplaced into the air, and collided with the dense smoke to further hinder his vision. "Rashad!" He could almost make out his name, but it was masked by the buzzing in his ears first and foremost. He started to feel a sharp pain on his left shoulder, which he concluded was not a very good sign, and that it was high time to try to get up again. He stumbled forward once he was halfway up, and started to tumble down again until two strong arms caught his waist from behind. He felt his body go limp as fear passed through him, but just for a second; "Are you fucking stupid or something?" She gave him a bit of a shake, "I thought you died!! Why didn't you answer me!?" Malina swept around to his front side and took as much of his weight as she could hold- which was a surprising lot! She figured he didn't catch much of what she said, considering he looked stupider than usually which- was really hard to do!! "Come on," she mumbled, and pulled him a ways further through the rubble until he tugged on her. "Scarf" She mumbled a "Do we have to," but already knew the answer. "If another one goes off and we die, I'm going to be super pissed, Rashad!" Still, she did try to be nice as possible, she really had thought for a moment there that he had died on her or something! What an idiot! Half supporting him (and then some!) she managed to get the two of them a little ways away, where their father's old hounds-tooth had landed. It was so ugly, she noted, even in this shithole! She positioned him so that he could stand (or at least, try to) and turned to pick it up- only to realize it wasn't on the ground, but on a face. "Ugh..." She whipped the scarf off to see their former team leader, Tunman, laying dead on the ground. Poor guy, was right in the blast zone, apparently! He had quite the face off with that grenade, if she did say so herself! Actually, she felt an ounce of guilt for that, and winced as she made her way back to Rashad. "Is that-" "Yup." "Dead?" "Yessir." They both let out a collective sigh as she took him again, and started to pull him away from the smoke. Once they could both breathe, she sat him down and took a seat opposite of him, so that way either one could see potential predators coming each way. "Sooooo..." She said innocently, pushing some dirt beneath them around with her finger to make a cat face, "What didja do that makes people want to fucking kill you?" He put a hand on his face and felt blood trickle down from his forehead. "It wasn't me, it was them. Did you see-" "Yeah, he died too. I saw him before I found you." Rashad swallowed hard, "So we are leaderless, then." Malina mumbled, "We have you-" "-No, wait, we don't! See, if someone was trying to kill just the two of them, they would have had a multitude of chances to, right?" He spoke faster as he went, "But rather, they wait for me to be with them, you get what I'm saying? I was a target too. And, looking over at that mess, it would be pretty hard to identify either one of those bodies, right? Who's to say it's not possible that I theoretically was blown to pieces over this whole field?" "Uh, the fact you're still alive?" "No no, see, they don't know that for sure. People," Malina sighed, here we go, another tangent..."Will naturally find cause to believe that they are correct in their assumptions, and will often warp reality to prove that they are correct in those same-" She flung a rock and let it hit him in the face. He paused and they both were quiet for a moment, before Rashad cleared his throat, "Look, we have to get out of here. Do you have everything on you?" "Yeaaah, but we can't just leave!! What about the others? And Wernicke's going to be really sa-" "-She'll know what happened, she's pretty smart." Malina looked back over to where the grenade went off, and then quickly snapped her head back to her lookout position. "Okay, fine, but we're coming back, right? Really soon?" "Definitely." She grabbed her bag and checked her rifle was on its hook. She didn't believe Rashad, but even if he was lying, it did usually make her feel better. "Just a second" He started to get up, but was holding his left arm. "I swear to Ghandi if you broke your stupid arm-" "No, its- it's just dislocated, actually. I'll actually need your help." He could feel a tear in his eye, this was going to be pretty painful. "Look I'm just going to hold it up, okay, and you're going to have to...ughhh....you have to punch it in place, do you think you can do that?" She stared at him. "Look I know you can do it, just quickl--" Smile on face, she hit his elbow as hard as she could, and it popped into place. Rashad, then, yelled out in pain. Malina did feel bad for him, but she wouldn't let it show! Instead, she crossed her arms and stuck her nose in the air. "Well maybe next time you shouldn't nearly die, huh?" _______________________________________________________ She kicked her feet up on the dashboard. This stupid truck was a piece of shit, but Rashad had taken a liking to it for whatever reason. He took all the credit for finding the beater and getting it to start, but she was the one who knew how to siphon gas, so in her mind, it was obvious who the MVP was here!! Rashad sensed Malina was getting pretty bored, (which was usual, she had the attention span of microbacteria) and tried to start a conversation; "What color is that sudan on our left?" "Purple." "Did you know," he started, she sighed, "That purple is a mood enhancing color and will usually be used to convey emotion further than the primary color chosen, specially in the case of-" The car went over something, and the duo was sent up and off their seats for a moment before Rashad slammed on the breaks. They both turned and looked out the rear window- "DUDE You just hit a crawler!! AW MAN its blood is everywhere!!!" She laughed, "Can i shoot it? It's still moving!" "Save it." He sighed, put the car in reverse, and went over it again. "My poor truck's going to be such a mess." After he was sure it wouldn't move again, he double checked that the locks were down before putting the car in drive and going down the road. For now, they weren't in any hurry to go anywhere specific. They had enough supplied to be set for a few days, and the whole back compartment of the car was stocked with whatever they'd need, as discretely as possible.
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 2, 2015 19:51:13 GMT -6
Jane shuffled through her backpack one more time, going through the checklist in her head. Water? Check. Food? Check. Gun? Check. Clothes? Check. Make-up? Check check check. A few other non-essentials filled the bag, though nothing serious enough to check off. Finally reassured that everything was in place, she hefted on one of the straps and looked around the room. It had served her well.
A twinge of guilt filled her, but she pushed it away and decided to double check the pile on the bed. She was stalling, she knew it- yet she couldn't make herself go. So instead she picked up the note and reread it.
Everyone- I'm sorry, I have to leave. It's not safe for me to be here anymore. They might find me and I can't let them find you. Thank you for your kindness. I hope you make it through this whole thing. Maybe we'll see each other again. If not- goodbye. -Jane
She replaced the note on top of the pile and nudged a few things around. It was mostly make-up for Skylar. She knew she liked to dress up. Maybe she'd get to use it if her and Conrad ever got to go on a date.
Ow.
She backed away and grabbed her ax off the bedside table. Her hand shook as she did so and she willed it to stop. It didn't.
She kept her steps slow and soft on the stairs and constantly checked for any sounds other than sleep. Her breath trembled when she let out a sigh at the bottom and she looked back up the staircase. She could almost see the first time she'd gone up it. She couldn't even walk up it herself, Conrad had to carry her.
Ow.
She turned away and tiptoed towards the door, flinching when one of the floorboards squeaked. She saw the first light of the day coming from in between the boards and the windows and she knew she had to move fast. Finally she made it to the door. She unlocked it painfully slow and opened it to reveal the new day. She stared at the sunrise and felt a tear roll down her cheek. God. Even in the apocalypse she was so dramatic. A sound upstairs shook her out of her stupor and- with one last look back- she stepped out the door.
Holy fucking hell it was cold. Like really, what the hell? It was November. What was this demon state known as North Dakota? More like Far North Dakota!
Jane pulled her jacket tighter around her and trudged on. She'd been lucky enough to scavenge an old grey hat, and while it wasn't the warmest, paired with her bandana it would work well enough. She wished for the old car she'd found a while back. It'd been so warm. Sadly that warmth had come at the price of using up gas, and she was soon back on her feet again.
The cold wind stung her squinted eyes, making the world blurry. She rubbed her hands on her legs through the jacket's pockets and wished again, this time for warm California days. She didn't know how far the next shelter was and fear was starting to freeze her heart along with the cold.
In fact, she was so cold that she didn't even notice the faint buzzing coming from the roadside. Or the car that made the buzzing.
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 2, 2015 22:33:21 GMT -6
"Nice to meet you, where you been?
I could show you incredible things
Magic, madness, heaven, sin
Saw you there and I thought
Oh my God, look at that face--"
"I'm dying."
Rashad laughed over the wheel, "My voice isn't that bad. Turn it down, okay?" She did, but scoffed, "YOU don't have to hear it all day every day, actually!! And you don't even watch the road. AND how even OLD is this song??" Rashad shook his head, "Geez uh, like ten years? I used to worship Taylor Swift, haha." "Who?"
The song continued as he turned to look at the road. A whole lot of nothin- "HEY SLOW DOWN!" "Hey, sit down!! What?? What!?" He applied the break before realizing what Malina was talking about, and then slammed on the breaks, hard, so they wouldn't quite drive past her.
As the tires squealed, the duo was sent forward, and were stopped by their seat belts locking. On Malina's tablet, the song stopped; "But I've got a blank space, baby," click "And I'll write your name!"
Malina turned off her tablet and they both took a long breath. Rashad combed his hair back and looked over to her. "I could easily look like a threat, so if we're doing this," "-I know, I've gotta!" She unfastened her seat belt and opened the car door before he stopped her, "Hey. This could be a trap, you know." "I know." "Don't die." "I'm not as stupid as you are!" She laughed, "Watch me." "Yeah." He undid his belt too, and hesitantly unlocked the doors. He watched Malina hop out of the truck, and kept a careful eye on her, revolver at hand.
Rashad could be pretty smart, but Malina didn't think she was a threat, and she was usually good at picking up stuff like that!! She close the car door carefully and slowly made her way a few hundred feet to where the other girl was, and she stopped at a large distance, in case she would be hostile. "HEY!" She yelled, "ARE YOU OKAY?" She stood still, and quickly darted her eyes around so that she would see if anyone was sneaking up on her. Still, she had to risk it if this girl needed help. She wouldn't let Rashad drive past, no matter how "smart" that would have been.
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 3, 2015 0:37:03 GMT -6
Jane heard the voice faintly at first, then really loud! She snapped out of her stupor and turned wildly, assessing any threat. Instead she found a little girl. She looked down at her ax, which she was gripping very tightly, and put it behind her back. "I-I'm f-f-fine!" she yelled back through chattering teeth. So convincing. "But where did you come from?"
The girl motioned to the running car not too far from them and Jane wanted to face palm. How had she not noticed it? Maybe she wasn't so fine.
She started backing away from the girl while continuing, "T-t-thanks, I'm g-good!" No way was she getting attached to more people! Definitely not- OOF! Her vision went black, and when it cleared up she found herself on her backside.
"D-d-do y-you have h-heat in that c-c-car?"
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 3, 2015 2:11:53 GMT -6
Malina looked down at Jane, blinking. "Still alright?" She put a hand out to help, but when the girl didn't take it right away, she just reached down and pulled her up herself!
"Yeah, it's got heat. If it didn't, I'd diieeeeee. Stupid Dakota, right?" She couldn't remember if they were in the South or the North one. Or the East or West, for that matter. Stupid America and its stupid naming of states.
"You should come with us!!! I haven't seen someone my age around in ages! I thought they were too stupid and got themselves dead, but here you are!!!" Selfishly, Malina really just kind of wanted a friend her age. Stupid Rashad and his stupid pop songs weren't doing it. "So whadda say? You can crash with me- um, my brother and I, actually! Don't worry, he's harmless. Too harmless." She sighed, "He's pretty much useless, actually, but he can drive, so there's that!"
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 4, 2015 22:03:18 GMT -6
She squeaked when she felt herself being pulled from the ground and tried to push the girl away. She was too slow though- the other had already let go. Jane hoped she hadn't noticed her little attempt, and if she did, well she hoped it wouldn't hurt her chances of reaching the car heater.
Nodding along to the girl's spiel, Jane's eyes moved towards the car. She squinted, trying to see who else was inside. The younger (?) girl answered her unspoken question though, and Jane's hands gripped her ax tighter. "Br-br-brother?" she asked through chattering teeth. That was a dangerous game to play, especially if he was an older brother.
But the warmth was calling her name.
Yet the danger scared her.
The warmth though.
The danger.
THE WARM-
"Alright." Jane couldn't believe what she'd just said. It was too late now though, and heat was just a car door away.
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 6, 2015 20:53:10 GMT -6
"Yeah!!! All right, cool!! That's more like it! It's super fucking cold anyway!" She took the girl's clammy hands (she must be so cold!) and ran over to Rashad's stupid redneck truck. "It looks gross but it's still pretty warm, you know." She felt a blast of cold wind and shook. "Stupid Dakota."
She knocked on the door a few times signaling Rashad that she was cool, not really that he needed it or anything, he had been watching the whole time. Malina noticed he had been an idiot and never locked the doors, but she could always use that as fuel for later, they had a ~~~new friend!~~~
She slid in first, her face attacked with the dry heat in the cool. Lucky Rashad got to sit in this whole time, psh! This was she was between Jane and Rashad, which hopefully made her more comfortable. Rashad's stupid long hair made him look pretty weird, Malina wagered. Luckily, his nasty shitty car had three seats upfront! There weren't any seats in the back, but there were their backpacks and blankets, which served as passengers, to them!!
Rashad drummed the steering wheel with his fingers and gave Jane a warm smile- something he found was worth straight gold these days. He was careful to resist the urge to naturally lock the doors right away- he didn't want her to believe she was in danger. And that was their specialty!
"We don't see a lot of hitchhikers these days! Must be the economy!" He laughed and looked over to Malina, "So who is this?" "..." "You didn't even get her name, did-" "-I was getting to that!!!"
"Oh my God." Before Jane could answer, Rashad was careful to get this out of the way, "Before anything, I believe it would be very efficient to explain my sister and myself's situation! We are not threats, other than Malina's terrible attitude and people skills." She lowered an eyebrow, but he continued, "Our prior party...is no longer with us, living the two of us out here. I don't expect you to believe us right away, and you can always leave if you feel the need to. For now though, and my personal recommendation as well, you are very welcome to travel with us for the time being!"
Content with that, he put a hand on the gear, ready to stick that baby in drive if she was down to stay! Quite honestly, any company other than Malina was usually appreciated! He did have to wonder why their makeshift team composed of him and teenage girls, but for now that wasn't too important.
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 11, 2015 19:58:08 GMT -6
Jane flinched at the girl's touch and barely stopped herself from snatching her hand away. Offending her wouldn't be a great way to make it to the warm car. And anyways, she didn't seem real dangerous...
As they got closer to the car, Jane looked carefully for the girl's brother. Soon enough, she could make him out. Definitely an older brother. Shit. She carefully slid in next to the other girl, eyes wide and watching the guy. Her hand was gripping her ax so tight that she could feel her fingernails digging into her skin.
But then she felt the heat coming out of the car's fans, and she wanted to cry. She actually thought she might- that is until the siblings started arguing. She gripped the car door, ready to skip out if she had to. She released it when they quickly calmed down and the brother started talking. Listening intently, she studied for any signs that he was lying. When he finished she sat quietly in thought.
This is all going to end like last time, isn't it?
"Okay." She turned to the younger girl. Though they couldn't tell, she smiled softly. "My name's Jane, by the way."
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 13, 2015 20:36:53 GMT -6
"Hey see, I totally know her name now! Myyyy name's Malina!" She kicked her feet up on the dash to get more comfortable! Rashad started to talk but she cut him off, "Heee's Rashad! You don't really have to talk to him, he's pretty boring!" "I wouldn't say boring, I'm very uh, learned, actually-" "Yeah whatever. ANYWAY! Jane, how do you feel about music?" She pulled a tablet out of her backpack and showed Jane all its glory! "Okay so-" Rashad cut her off this time, "-I bet you're wondering how that works!! See, we found it fairly early provided all things, but more importantly," He kicked the car in drive and smiled, "The case is actually solar powered! Luckily, bending Apple products is never too hard, as the case was a little small but, it does its job!!"
Malina looked so bored she could cry. "ANYWAY, we have music!! See?" She clicked through some songs and found one that should work! "They're mostly pop stuff, I hope that's okay." She glared at Rashad as to say 'DONT YOU DARE SING A LONG' but he couldn't help it, he knew all the words!!
The car started to pick up speed and sped along the road, pop tunes kickin' and all!
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 13, 2015 20:51:59 GMT -6
Jane's attention quickly switched back and forth between the siblings. "It's okay," she mumbled as she watched Malina whip out a tablet? She was actually pretty interested in how that got that working, and couldn't help but be reminded of Skylar and her own tech savvy ways.
She was about to commend them on their "invention" when Malina chose one of her songs. Jane froze. Of course there was no way they would know it was her unless she sang along, but still. UGH.
And then Rashad started singing with it! Oh god, she wanted to die. Maybe this whole thing wasn't a good idea after all.
Meekly she asked, "Could we maybe change the song? I'm- er- not a fan of this artist." She hoped they wouldn't get angry. She just didn't think she could stand hearing herself much longer.
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 13, 2015 22:18:59 GMT -6
"Sure! I don't really like Taylor Swift either." She clicked the next song and pressed play! "That's not Taylor Swift, she's too old, I think that was something newer," Rashad mentioned, looking away from the road long enough to cause the car to swerve. "I dunno, something American. Watch the stupid road!" Malina couldn't really keep track of all the new American things. She would never ever admit it, but the boy bands were....kinda cute...BUT STILL AMERICAN. "Soooo," Rashad started, hoping to warm up to Jane, "What kind of music do you like, Jane? I could see you as uh, what is the American word, reggae?" He laughed, "Maybe smooth jazz? Definitely metal!" He tapped his hands on the wheel to the beat. He was a very distracted driver, unfortunately! "Maybe you're just not a music person?"
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 13, 2015 23:39:17 GMT -6
Okay, Jane was a little insulted by that Taylor Swift comment. She crossed her arms indignantly as Malina switched the songs, and was at least happy about the new one.
Jane unraveled her arms, turning her head to the side to think. "Well, anything really." She blinked before adding, "except that last girlllll!" She jammed her fingers into the seat when Rashad swerved again. She was glad she didn't get carsick!
"Wh-where are you guys headed?" she asked as she re-seated herself.
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 14, 2015 0:33:48 GMT -6
"Sorry about that girls!" "You better be!" Malina defiantly mumbled before crossing her arms and smiling too.
Rashad was about to answer but stopped to be sure there were no other cars at the intersection. Not that he really expected there to be, but that still didn't stop him from stopping at every stop sign, too.
In the pause, Malina answered instead, "Down south!! It's way warmer there. We're leaving stupid Dakota really soon!"
Rashad let out a humming, and quietly and defensively, added, "Actually, we're staying right here." "WHAT? Are you fucking kidding? It's cold as sh-" "Watch your language!!" He cleared his throat while Malina fumed silently, "Look, it's a lot safer here. Everyone else is going down south, right?" He waited for an answer from Malina, but when on anyway, "So, you know, they'll go down south too, and it will be much safer up here. No people, no zombies, just survival, right? And our ancestors have been doing that for centuries."
Malina glared at him. She'd much rather take the both of them than the stupid cold. They WERE Indian, it's not like they were used to it.
"How about you, Jane? Do you plan on staying up north too?"
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Post by macxcheese on Jan 19, 2015 23:27:26 GMT -6
Jane noted Rashad's stop, and actually smiled a little at it. Such a silly thing to do in the apocalypse!
She jumped as voices were raised again and scooted closer to the door. Luckily the fighting stopped quickly and she relaxed a bit.
"I..." she paused for a second, thinking of a good answer. "I plan on going wherever it's safest for me," she decided, casting her eyes down. "Just anywhere away from here."
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candyleptic
Junior Member
Haar probably
Posts: 84
devArt: C--YOU
art blog: C--YOU.tumblr.com
active character(s): Rashad, Malina, Mace
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Post by candyleptic on Jan 20, 2015 23:16:04 GMT -6
"That's a very sound plan!" Rashad said. He always appreciated when team members put safety first! Hopefully some of that insight would rub off on Malina, he prayed!
"UGHJK. I just want to get out of here! Look at this crap! This water stuff is everywhere and I hate it." She mumbled to Jane. "I can't believe you even held out this long! You have to be like, an elephant or something!"
Rashad gave a nervous laugh to the steering wheel, "Elephants aren't considered very strong in America, actually. She...doesn't mean you are large!" He lightly laughed again. Oh, culture could be such a barrier. It actually reminded him of a book he once read where-
Malina let out a bored SIGGGGHHHH and sunk into her seat deeper. "So what now, pinhead?? Are we just gonna drive around until we run out of gas again??"
"Actually," Rashad said happily, as if he was a professor explaining to a group of his students, "I have a much better idea! I've been thinking, actually! Now Jane, as our guest," he humbly took his hands off the wheel to do a prayer motion with his hands, and the car swerved just a bit!! He quickly grabbed the wheel again and cleared his throat-culture barrier strikes again-! "If you have any issues with our plans, let us know! You are welcome to stay with us as long as you'd like! Now, considering the last few shelters and the like that Malina and I have had the pleasure to attend, this area will be lacking in room for the three of us. Plus, we don't recommend them. Quite unsafe, if you're not very careful! However, you know what haven't been touched?? Motels! You know wh-?"
"-Because they're not heated and people aren't idiots?"
"Well, no, they are not heated. But that doesn't mean they can't be!"
Rashad grinned at Jane- he loved explaining his ideas! And maybe, just maybe, he'd finally have someone who appreciated them!!
"I imagine between the three of us, we could very well attempt to insulate a small room there! Plus, many around this area will be equipped with chimneys and the like. As for the water situation, I'm sure I can think of something. An another note, this particular motel, while not the cleanest in it's mayday, IS close to a forest, which is ideal for trapping and hunting! Both of which would supply high calorie and fat intake, which in turn will preserve more heat for us! Science, really! Eskimo science, as a matter of fact!"
"Are Eskimos even still a thin-" "-Shush! Jane," Rashad slowed the car down to a stop, as per stop sign! "How does that sound? By all means, it is up to you! You would be sharing a room with Malina, of course, as I am sure that would be more comfortable. In all honesty though, I do imagine your safest bet is, in fact, with a group." He gave her an honest smile.
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