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Orior
May 7, 2015 20:43:09 GMT -6
Post by ashestoApples on May 7, 2015 20:43:09 GMT -6
January 1st, 2027_________________________
Orior: Latin. 1. arise/emerge 2. begin 3. wake _________________________ Conrad was sure he was seeing things. It was wishful thinking, perhaps. A gritty, affected version of it since he could tell even from here that something was... missing... from Jane. And she had more people with her- probably too many to be realistic. He turned away from the cold wind and squeezed his eyes shut, hard before rubbing them fiercely with his free hand, other still poised on the trigger of Lorna's gun. When he looked back though, he found that unless he was actually hallucinating, this was real. He ducked in through the skylight, landing on the ground lightly enough not to give people heart attacks but to still signal his presence to those nearby, and slid down the banister. There wasn't enough time for taking stairs right now. Regardless of his minimal movement though, he was still breathing heavily by the time he made it to the kitchen- he was sure it was because something had to be wrong. Something was different- and Jane was here. Lorna looked up at him with mild interest, turning a page of her book before placing a pencil on it to keep her place. "Stedman, is there trouble?" She didn't have to look over at Rick to know he was getting up too. "What is it?" "Jane," he said breathlessly. "And... and others." Lorna blinked a few times, unsure of how to process the information. "Jane?" Conrad managed to nod before pointing at the door. "Here." Lorna glanced over at Rick, brow furrowing before setting off toward the back room first. Ace and Alicia were there, Alicia was playing with something and Ace was reading one of the few books he actually did read- American Military History. Lorna tried not to think about how unwelcome Jane was- how she felt used and betrayed and how much MORE betrayed other members of her party felt. Skylar was hurt most, she knew. "Company," she said simply after Ace looked up at her. As if on cue, there came a tremulous knock at the door. Lorna and Conrad padded around the corner, looking at the door warily. Lorna was unsure of her course of action, but at the very least they had to answer to tell them to leave. She heard signs of movement upstairs, and she was all but sure it was Skylar and Mr. Whiskers, emerging from whatever they were doing to investigate the noise like the cats they were. Lorna expertly undid the three locks she knew to be locked and felt a hand on her back. Grateful for the support she knew was Rick, she opened the door, trying not to be immediately angry. To her surprise, there were more familiar faces than just the one- one of them very hurt. Her brow furrowed more deeply as she opened the door more widely. "Jane," she said simply. She didn't remember the young doctor's name, nor his sister's, but she was pretty sure one of them had an 'ash' sound and the other one was a bit like 'Melissa'- or it had the same number of syllables at least. She waited for them to explain before giving into her initial instinct of closing the door in their faces.
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Orior
May 7, 2015 22:00:12 GMT -6
Post by macxcheese on May 7, 2015 22:00:12 GMT -6
Jane gave a sharp intake of breath and prepared for the door to open. It was a good thing too. Lorna's expression was as icy as the winter weather. She felt tears prick her eyes and a lump form in her throat. Her eyes passed over the others on the other side of the door, and she wondered if they hated her. She wouldn't blame her. She'd been a pretty shitty presence during her stay, and then, well... It wasn't time to worry about that though. There were more important things at hand.
She quickly realized crying was going to get her no where with Lorna and she stiffened her back. "I messed up. I'm sorry," she said as steadily as she could. "But I need your help. They need your help." She felt her stare falter and looked at the ground as if there would be more words. Shifting Rashad's weight, she breathed in deeply. "I'll leave," she whispered to Lorna. She continued, even though every word hurt. "I'll leave and you'll never have to see me again. Just please help them." She tried not to think about what would happen if Lorna took her offer. Her posture slumped with her spirit, and she looked up at Lorna with an apologetic grimness.
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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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Orior
May 7, 2015 22:26:49 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on May 7, 2015 22:26:49 GMT -6
Malina looked right at Lorna as Jane spoke. She had decided that these people were probably Rashad's best chance at living, so she wasn't about to take no for an answer. If she somewhat managed to kidnap the church boy with Jane's help, she knew the two of them could probably take at least one of Lorna's hostage too. Probably the mole kid, especially because he was staring at them from inside. Her eyes flicked away from Lorna for a split second to him before going back. It would definitely be mole kid, she decided.
She was strong, but after the day she had (or week, rather,) every bone in her body ached, and she had to struggle to keep Rashad up again. Puffs of winter breath escaped her as she balanced his weight, each carrying a slow stinging pain. After willing the pain away as strong as she could, she almost let Rashad fall in the snow when Jane offered to give up her home.
Actually, Malina didn't realize Jane was even considering staying here. For a split second she wondered if Jane didn't like their company either, but she shook it off. She'd deal with everything else later, they had to get help now. They HAD to get help. Subconsciously, Malina swayed enough that her rifle would tap her hip, reminding both her and them that she still had it.
She didn't want to hurt them though, especially Ginger Braid. She kinda liked her, to be honest. Malina waited a moment before she joined the conversation. She looked up at Lorna again, forgetting about all the blood on her clothing and face and just stated flatly,
"Jane lost her arm."
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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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Orior
May 14, 2015 1:03:33 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on May 14, 2015 1:03:33 GMT -6
Kryss Jonathan sat in the car for a long time. He still had no idea what his standing was. They had tied him up. They had allowed him to come with them. Malina had held a gun on him. But she was desperate. He just... didn't know if he was allowed to leave the car. And he certainly wasn't going to ask, not in this situation. Eventually instinct took over when he saw Rashad shift and almost fall. He was out of the car and near them before he realized what he was doing, but they had righted the man by then. Now that he was out, he didn't feel right going back in. He stood on the porch, trying hard to contain his shivering, dwelling between the blessing of relief in his arms and the stinging in his ha nds and nose. He looked at the hard faced woman in front of them and swallowed lightly. He said a quick prayer, for soft hearts and compassionate minds. They really didn't have to stay, but he prayed she would let them. He didn't know how long they would last without their help, and he knew Rashad wouldn't last very long at all. Kryss Ace raised an eyebrow at Lorna's statement, gently setting the book down to follow her. He motioned for Alicia to stay - she would be safe up here if there was an altercation. He followed Lorna down the stairs, noting the furrow in her brow and tightness in her jaw. Did she already know who the company was? Were they more MRZA+'s that had made it past the fence? He picked up his gun from its place near the door anyway, just for caution He wasn't expecting who it was behind the door, though. The small one. Jane. And a bleeding man. Ace had seen gunshot wounds before, and he knew this one needed to be tended, and quickly. How long had it been going? Too long already, he figured, from the pale shade to the man's russet skin. And a broken girl with the fierce determination in her eyes that only comes from having no hope to save your company, and doing it anyway. He had a feeling she would fight through hell and high water to get help for Jane and this man, who was probably her brother or cousin. He knew Lorna's feelings about Jane, and gazed steadily at her back, ready to remind her that these people were human, too. While Jane had hurt them all in some way, she had never threatened them physically, and hadn't even stolen directly from him. She was asking very blatantly what she wanted. He had a feeling there was no deception here. Seeing Lorna hesitate for so long, probably trying to steel up the courage to say no, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Mercy should win out today. It had to sometime. Kryss Skylar walked lazily out of her door, the walking incarnation of cute at her heels. Had that been a knock? It had sounded like a knock, but it had also been very very quiet. It could've been something else, but one way or another it would be interesting. She leaned over, arms on the railing, watching from her balcony seat. What was up? She got her answer almost immediately as the door opened. It took her a second to register what was there, and then everything froze. She didn't even notice the other two people, let alone that one of them was shot, only the tiny, tiny figure of Jane. She couldn't see her clearly. Lorna and Ace and Rick were in the way. But she recognized that hair, and that stance, and those beautiful, beautiful heartbreaking eyes. Her heart stopped for a moment, then thudded so loud she couldn't hear anything but her own blood pounding in her ears. Jane. Sweet Jane, helpless Jane. Lying Jane. Betraying Jane. Shattering Jane. Why was she here? How could she be here? How DARE she be here? Flushing of anger and tingling of anxiety and tears of hurt all washed together at the same time. It was that awful morning all over again, it was Christmas, it was the long nights, it was everything she'd been trying to forget. She felt a sharp complaint from her fingers, she'd be gripping the banister entirely too tightly. She pried her hands off and started walking mechanically down the stairs. What would she say? What could she say? She didn't know. Right now it was all she could do to keep her feelings tightly bound together so they didn't come bursting out of her ribs and flying in every direction at once. dandyandy There were a lot of times Rick was glad he wasn't the one anyone depended on as the voice of reason. This was definitely another one of those times. He stood behind Lorna steadily, hand poised against her back and somehow finding a way to keep it from trembling with... he wasn't sure. Rage, furious indignation, frustration, etc? He narrowed his eyes at Jane, before raking them unhappily over the new company she brought with her. She uses them and their supplies for protection and safety, getting closer with some more than the rest, then leaves like a flighty little bird and comes back with even MORE potential heartbreakers? He sneered at the two small figures in her company, but couldn't keep it up when it came to the bleeding man. He looked towards Jane again, eyes softening but still unfriendly. Stupid tiny pop stars and their stupid naive little requests for aid. "Lor." He prompted under his breath, only loud enough for her (and maybe Ace) to hear, hand applying a little more pressure to her back like that might spur her into talking. ashestoApples Lorna felt the two pressures on her- one racked with anger and pure emotion and disapproval and the other the steady weight of good and quiet logic. She closed her eyes for just a moment. As much as she didn't want to help Jane, she couldn't turn the others away. She stepped aside and started issuing orders- 'Grab the kit, Stedman' and 'Help them carry the doctor to the couch,' to anyone who wasn't occupied. She glanced up at Skylar and quickly turned away. She'd have to deal with that later. Alicia was peeking around the corner and Lorna quietly shook her head at her. This seemed to be enough for Alicia to retreat back to where she came from. She didn't want Alicia to fear her, but it worked for now. Conrad came fumblingly with the kit as they worked on getting Rashad to the couch and Lorna opened it, putting on gloves and rummaging through the dwindling supplies. Her jaw tightened as she set to work. Not a word escaped her lips- and Conrad followed suit similarly; Lorna out of a quiet coldness and Conrad out of simply not knowing what to say. ('Oh hey Jane, I don't really get it but I think you kinda broke Skylar's heart or something and she's been a mess and I don't know how I feel about you being here!' was what came to mind, and it didn't feel like the time.) He did manage to grab rags and water for Lorna, though, so there was that. macxcheese Jane kept her eyes anywhere from the others and waited for Lorna’s decision like she was waiting to get her arm cu- dammit. No more similes. As soon as Lorna gave the verdict, Jane practically barreled in with Rashad and Malina. She kept her eyes on the ground until they made it to the couch. Once she’d helped Malina get him on there and comfortable- as much as he could be with a bullet wound- she took a step back. They were safe. If only for a little while, they were safe. The realization hit her and suddenly her body seemed to say, ‘Hey. ‘You’re good now, so lie down. Take a rest. We’ll take it from here.’ Jane could only nod at the ceiling, rough carpet scratching against her head, and close her eyes. candylepticMalina watched with heavy eyes as Rashad laid so limply on the couch. She didn’t even notice what Ginger braid was up to- she really didn’t want to know. As long as he would be okay. For a moment she forgot about all the stares from everyone around them, but she felt very uncomfortable all the same. Not that it really mattered- she figured once Rashad was okay (and Jane too) they could all just head out again and start somewhere new and maybe even be- -Jane hit the floor and Malina was down on her knee in a second; at first she was going to give her a shake to see if she was okay, but maybe… it was better to let her be? She supposed after all they had been through, maybe the best thing was to just leave Jane alone- it seemed the more they “lended a hand” (quite literally!) the more damage they did, so she just slowly sunk into a sitting position right next to her while a hand absentmindedly felt for her rifle strap. Kryss Ace quickly set his gun aside and helped carry Rashad into the house, settling him as comfortably and solidly on the couch as they could. He helped Lorna with the initial set up and stood by, ready to give her a hand as she needed it. Taking a step back from the scene, he was suddenly struck. by a sharp pain in his chest. His surroundings faded, and changed. The ground became dry, pale dirt. The walls changed to rough wood, with fabric across the windows. Oppressive heat pressed in from every side. His chest, no - his shoulder. It hurt, a searing pain. The shrapnel. The grenade had exploded, and there was shrapnel. He had been tended, though, a bloody bandage wrapped around it. Lorna had changed too - who was Lorna? - the field medic crouched over the man, while a girl sat stony faced in the corner, over another body, tears silently making their way down her grim face. The man screamed. Who had anesthetic out here? They had some at base, but that was miles away, and the gunfire outside hadn't ceased. The man screamed again, no, more gurgled. He couldn't scream. Sweat was pouring off of him, and he was growing paler by the minute. Ace was sweating too, through the pain and the heat. His officer would tell him to get the hell out. Why was he focusing so much on the locals when his mission was a bust? But wasn't that what they were here for, or what they should be here for? Charlie was sweating too, his face contorted in fear and nausea as he dug in the man's leg. "It's okay," Ace said as strongly as he could, "You'll make it. If we can just get him bound up, then we can -" Charlie turned to face him with a hopeless expression. At that moment the man jerked, making a strangled sound. He coughed hard, and blood dribbled out of the corner of his mouth. He slumped, his eyes fluttering, then glazing over. His chest pumped raggedly for a few more breaths, then stopped. Charlie covered his face, heaving. The girl's countenance broke; she gripped her hair and let out an unearthly screech. The wall behind them exploded - no! Ace snapped back into the present. He was panting and sweat beaded his entire body, but he had remained still. He focused on everything around him. This was hellish, yes, but it was here, and now, and in North Dakota, in Lorna's house. He knew who Lorna was. Alicia was upstairs. It was the apocalypse, and he couldn't afford to live in the past. Still, as he calmed down, it could have been worse. Better to be trapped inside his own mind than to lash out and harm those around him. Still, he was glad he'd put down his gun. Kryss Jonathan stood outside for just a moment, uncertain. Should he go inside? Would these new people hate him as well, would they welcome him in or reject him? He didn't know, and he was terrified, but the decision was pretty much made for him as the freezing weather worked at numbing his entire body. He stumbled inside, where it was at least warmer, if not heated. Like his church. He stood awkwardly to the side, unable to do anything but furiously pray. He did his best not to draw attention, at least until he saw Jane fall. He started forward, making it two steps before other people rushed to her aid, beating him to it. He withdrew again, going to sit by the wall. His ankle sent a jolt of pain up his side and he slid into a sitting position. The events of the day started weighing in on him, and he breathed heavily. His church. He'd left it behind. He may never see it again. Mary, Joseph, and Christopher. Part of him knew he would probably have to leave them behind, but he hadn't even been able to say goodbye. He hadn't been able to leave any food for them. What if they died without him? He took a deep breath. He would just have to trust in God to take care of even the least of his creatures. He could do that. He wished he could reread the passage to - he froze. His Bible. His Bible. He'd left it. At the church. He hadn't had time to... Tears pricked at his eyes, and quickly spilled over. He lifted his head up, feeling them soak hotly into his hair. Why? The one thing he had on Earth that was truly his, it was gone. He knew he should have no Earthly attachment, that it was the words of the Bible, not the book itself, that were important, and he had those in his head. But he couldn't help it. What would give him comfort now? On long nights when he felt screams clawing at his heart and the moaning outside, what would give him courage? He tried to calm himself and simply sat quietly, hand pressed against his chest, trying to at least slow the tears. Kryss Skylar stood, frozen as the scene unfolded in front of her. She recognized these people. From... Walmart? Was it from Walmart? Yes! The sassy rude little girl! The doctor who said she needed Jesus (as if Jesus was even around anymore.) He was hurt. She finally registered the blood pouring from his wounds. She was about to offer to help, when she got her first good look at Jane. And the world tilted onto its side. Her... arm. Where was Jane's arm? She had the strangest thought that maybe she had just left if somewhere, like a purse. No, it was gone. She felt the pounding in her ears again, and her head grew light, she began taking steps towards the other girl. And then she watched her crumple. Whatever remaining anger and hurt there was melted away, at least for the time being, and she rushed to her side. There was another girl already there, and she had a gun, but Skylar blocked that out. She gently, so gently, worked her arms underneath the tiny, thin body. Had she been eating right? That seemed impossible, with how delicate she seem ed now. She lifted her, eyes stinging, filled with tears. But now, she couldn't cry now. She whispered to Lorna, "I'm taking Jane to her room." She didn't stay for discussion. She didn't stay for argument. She began walking up the stairs, slowly and gently to not wake her. Jane was back, and whatever else, she needed Skylar's help. dandyandy Rick, reluctantly, helped move the injured man onto the couch, pointedly avoiding both Jane and the other small girl as they both collapsed onto the floor. Some more literally than others. He considered protesting when Skylar began to leave with Jane, but seeing as no one else seemed to care either, he shrugged angrily as if to say 'Whatever, I don 't even CARE' before standing awkwardly off to the side of all the chaos going on near the couch. He wasn't a medic - he could barely apply a bandaid properly, 90% of the time getting the damn thing stuck to his fingers and ruining the sticky part of it before he ever got it where he needed it to be . He considered sitting down like so many of them seemed to be doing, but with no couch, a little girl in one spot, and a small, crying man in another, he shoved his hands in his pockets and began to pace. He paused several times, turning to look at Lorna's busily working back and opening his mouth to say something, before closing it again and resuming his pacing. What was he supposed to do in this situation? There was nothing to fight, and no one to argue with, as much as he might like to start heckling the strangers and the not-so-stranger Skylar had absconded with. ashestoApples Lorna was somehow able to make quick work of the injury- luckily it was pretty clean- but she thought he might need a transfusion if it didn't stop bleeding like it was. She didn't have the luxury of silver nitrate nor did she have a way of applying vast amounts of heat to properly cauterize the wound. All she had was binding tightly and a tourniquet, and it was still bleeding heavily. Without warning anyone about what she was about to do, she pulled out a transfusion bag (she had precious few) and took a deep breath before stabbing herself in the arm. She hoped to get it the first try, but she didn't. She tried again. And again. And again. She managed to get her vein on the fifth try and she stood carefully, holding the bag in her opposite hand. "If anyone's squeamish, I'd suggest looking away," she said as she moved carefully to find her water bottle. Now wasn't a great time to not be fully hydrated. No one could say she didn't try her hardest now. She'd get the color back on the doctor's face. ashestoApples Conrad hovered around, knowing he wasn't very helpful. When Lorna rANDOMLY STABBED HERSELF FIVE TIMES THOUGH he looked at her with wide-- well, wider eyes. Should she be moving? What was even happening anymore? ?? He picked her bottle up off the ground and handed it to her, but knew if he did much else she'd probably start swatting at him. Instead he looked around at the miserable-looking group. Skylar had absconded with Jane, Ace appeared to have gone through hell and back, Rick looked angry, his eyes stopped on the kid in the corner-- kid, no he probably wasn't younger than him. He could see him shaking and wasn't sure if he could do anything about it. He was sure he was scared, terrified actually, and he needed something. But what? Food and water probably, but something more comforting than that? Hugs weren't really the go-to nowadays, but he just didn't know. He decided to settle on the food and water thing and headed to the kitchen, looking around for something easy to gather and give away. He was sure they were all starving. candylepticMalina was up in a second to protest to Skylar- but she was sure she went unheard. Who was she to just take Jane away like that?? Old team member or not she didn’t know that was what Jane wanted. Not to mention, Malina didn’t really know these people. More importantly though, Malina counted more heads here than were at Walmart. That meant that there were people she might not know about. That meant that there could be people upstairs. And those people could be /men,/ and she was immediately hit with a ball of anger and distrust. But Rashad was so defenseless (Not that when conscious he wasn’t though…), and she couldn’t just leave him. She stood, torn between them, chewing on the inside of her mouth for a way out. Not “out”-out, but a way of deciding who to see to. She caught Jon’s eye from the corner of the room and looked away in disgust- not so much at him but more for their situation. She didn’t want to be reminded what she nearly did to him, after all. She turned to Rashad then, finally, to see Lorna doing…something that was definitely medical, but Malina couldn’t handle it. She froze up for a moment before muttering a distressed and disgruntled “Ugh!” to break the silence. As far as she was concerned, the silence was hers to break! She then quickly shot for up the stairs- she wouldn’t let one of them catch her first- she had to make sure Jane would be okay! Kryss Jonathan's tears slowed, trying into an itchy trail along his temples. It still hurt, but as a sort of hollow ache instead of an unending tide. His hand slowly slipped from his chest to settle in his lap. All he could do now was breathe, and focus on nothing but that. Breathe in. Everything would be ok. Breathe out. God would provide for him. Breathe in. Even if these people didn't want him. Breathe out. He would find somewhere else to go. Breathe in. There would be someplace he could stay. Breathe out. Even if he could never go home. He felt calmer, and closed his eyes. He was so, so tired. Kryss Once Ace had calmed himself down, and saw Lorna performing dangerous medical procedures with no preparation, he hurried over. Knowing she couldn't be jolted with such delicate equipment going on, he guided her slowly into a chair, making her sit. If she was going to be giving blood, then she sure wasn't going to be doing much else. She should probably get a snack or something too. He didn't have a ton of experience with transfusions, but he knew it was of utmost importance that the donating party be as healthy as possible. He looked around to see if there was anything else he could do to help, but didn't see anything off the cuff. dandyandy Rick practically jumped out of his skin when Lorna just stARTED STABBING HERSELF, REPEATEDLY NO LESS? WITH NO WARNING WHAT-SO-EVER?? He knew arguing with her was pointless, and shouting at her when she had already struggled to STAB HERSELF IN THE DING-DANG-DAMN ARM so many times seemed an equally bad idea. He ran into the kitchen, nearly colliding with Conrad as he did. Seemed the kid had already had the same idea - he roughly patted him on the back once in thanks, before grabbing handfuls of certain things he knew off the top of his head could be spared, and didn't need much preparation beyond 'open and eat', so he began shoving the items into Conrad's arms. "You. Take." He commanded, pointing directly at the shorter male before he took off back into the living room. Ace had helped Lorna into a chair, which he belatedly realized he probably should've thought of first and felt like slapping himself for not. Whatever, at least she was being taken care of! He shoved the self-depreciating, possibly-jealous thoughts away into the other parts of his brain that remained an unhelpful mess of grey matter, before spotting something else that was different about the room. The little dark-skinned girl was missing - she had taken off after Skylar and Jane, hadn't she? Dammit. He stalked towards the only other option he had right now, standing above the small previously-crying man still cowering against the wall and crossing his arms with a very dark sneer that had one of his canines being revealed as his lip curled. "You. Explain." ashestoApples Alicia made her way around a corner and began navigating the large house hopefully undetected. She could be quiet when she needed to be! And she was little enough to hide behind doors when people looked up. Her sense for that kind of thing was decent, thanks to Ace. She looked around and ducked in a room to find Skylord, the familiar girl in the bed and a darker girl who reminded her a little of her dad nearby. "Sowwy," she squeaked, edging toward the door but not going out of it in fear someone could be looking up stairs like Lorna with her piratey face and mean forehead and eyebrows and the frown she associated in her head with exaggerated ':c' frowny faces. ashestoApples Lorna realized belatedly she probably could have warned people before stabbing herself several times, probably, but she didn't really regret it. He needed blood. She didn't know his blood type. She knew SHE was a universal donor. It made sense. She took a drink of her water and found food shoved at her by Conrad who proceeded around the room, offering people things. He wasn't actually sure if the shot guy was out cold but he assumed probably so he put some food nearby as he made his way around, noticing a distinct lack of girls. After dropping food next to the sad boy with a cross on his shirt he glanced up the stairs and decided it might be best to leave that alone for now, instead turning back to Rick and the other long-haired (maybe Native American??? He wasn't Mexican or Puerto Rican for sure) boy and shoved Rick a little in the ribs as if to say 'DUDE WOULD YOU CALM THE HELL DOWN HE'S BEEN THROUGH AN ORDEAL' because when he looked down at this small, sad kid, he couldn't help but see himself. And Rick fucking terrified him at first, quite frankly (Granted, his first words to HIM were 'do you know how many hits it takes to bash in a human skull' but Rick was kind of intimidating without his... flourishing vocabulary anyway).
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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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Orior
May 16, 2015 21:46:44 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on May 16, 2015 21:46:44 GMT -6
Malina made it up the stairs in a huff before her feet slowed beneath her. Something was not right. She couldn't put her finger on it right away, but it made her worry, and she threw open the first door she could find. It took a moment to register Jane wasn't in there, nor anyone else, but she forgot about that momentarily. They had so many things. Not even strictly survival things, but normal, everyday things. There was a hair bush and curtains and pillows and clothing- so much clothing. Not even "a lot" per say, but more than Malina was used to seeing any one person had. Their old group enforced a strict "three outfit rule", and anything over that was just dead weight and considered selfish.(That didn't mean Rashad didn't break it, though...) Were their blankets clean? They didn't seem to weigh down by human dirt and grease like their roll-up cots were, but rather they were light and fluffy and almost, almost inviting? It wasn't right. She shut the door behind her and quietly made her way down the hall. Jane's door was slightly open, and Malina slid in quickly. Everything seemed okay though- there wasn't a man in sight. Just Jane and the other girl, who seemed to be interested in her well being. Then again, people always seemed like a lot of things. Malina knew better though, and stayed close to the door. Soon though, her eyes started to wander more. So many things. It soon occurred to her what was so wrong- it was warm. Not like the church was "warm" simply because it blocked the wind, but this was genuinely heated. Even if the heat wasn't on now, it seemed like it was at some point in the near past. They weren't wearing coats downstairs! How often did she sleep in outer-layers because blankets weren't enough? Staring at the older girl she felt heavy. She wasn't even wearing shoes. She had painted toenails. Like everything was normal? Why was it so normal for her?? She bet she never had to sleep with a coat on. Or wear the same pair of socks for weeks. Or more importantly, go hungry because there wasn't enough food to go around. Malina felt disgusted and nearly violated. Who was this girl??? Who were any of these people? To live this comfortable and clean while the rest of them were outside and cold and hungry and so , so close to the zombies. How bad did they really need anything from Walmart? She started to recall that day clearer and clearer- they had brought the zombies, hadn't they? Why did they even leave their stupid, perfect home in the first place? For more clothes and nail polish? Was it just a "normal every day" grocery trip? Maybe even for fun? Had they even lost a member, ever?? Actually, now that she thought about, didn't Tunman lose his- -her thoughts came to a halt when a little face peeked around the corner. Malina kept her eyes locked on her. She was so young. Did she even know about the outside world- about out there? It occurred to her then that, perhaps, because of how normal Lorna's house was, she probably didn't even know what was going on. Malina's demeanor turned to something as vulnerable as the little kid next to her. Did she even know?? Are there people alive to this day who had no idea? And then, what else wouldn't she know? What happened if the house fell and she was all alone then, would she be okay? When it all started so long ago, Malina wouldn't have been okay alone, but now... She looked to the floor and took a few silent breaths. Were they really doing her a favor though?
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Orior
Jun 12, 2015 23:59:19 GMT -6
Post by ashestoApples on Jun 12, 2015 23:59:19 GMT -6
Kryss Jonathan jumped, startled when the large man singled him out, demanding an explanation. "I-Well, um," he tried to clear his throat, although it was too dry to properly do so, and he wound up coughing a bit. "They," he began, indicating Rashad, as he was the only member of the team left in the living room. He quickly glanced away from the grisly sce ne on the couch, however, and turned his attention back to the man. No, that was too intimidating. He glanced awkwardly off to the side and continued, "They found me at the church I was staying at. The morning after we were attacked by... walkers." He could barely say the word. "We fought our way out, but the man there, Rashad, was injured. I'm not sure how. I didn't see it happen. Jane gave us directions here, she... she said you could help," he finished, swallowing hard. Only then did he notice the food that the boy must have given him some time ago. Oh no! Was it too late to thank him? Would it seem insincere now? Or weird? Or was he making it worse by NOT thanking him?? He started to swe at nervously and continued avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room. This was not going well, it was not, not, not. Kryss Ace settled next to Lorna as everything calmed down a bit. He noticed Rick intimidating the least intimidating of the strangers over in the corner (except maybe Jane, but she carried different baggage,) He considered intervening, but Conrad was already there to smooth out the situation, as best as Conrad could. He looked back to Lorna, then examine d the sleeping man. He didn't know for certain, but he'd seen a lot of bullet wounds in his time. Too many. And he knew what needed to be done, more often than not. No matter how clean the shot, infections happened, or fragments moved around, nicked arteries, tore muscle. He also knew there was an X-acto knife in one of the kitchen drawers. He fina lly spoke, keeping his voice low and even. "The bullet has to come out, doesn't it?" Kryss Skylar sat, staring at Jane for a moment more, conflicting emotions raging and ripping inside her. She was glad she was here. She was furious she'd left. She was glad she was safe. She was heartbroken that she was not whole. Finally she broke herself from her reverie and looked over, noticing the other girl in the room, and her not-at-all hidden ho rrified expression. Horrified at what, Skylar wasn't positive. But she saw how thin the girl's arms were, and how bundled she was. It was getting colder inside the house, especially since they had to stop running the generator every day (she couldn't remember clearly when the last time had been. Yesterday? She thought it had been yesterday.) But sh e was still usually warm enough to eschew heavy layers, especially since she was just ornery about it. But she remembered, so vividly. Nearly getting frostbite in the winter. Living in borrowed clothes, always having to give them back when she was kicked out. Going a week without eating, and attacking whatever sustenance she did find with an animal passion. Counting her ribs with her brittle fingers. Getting to the point where she really didn't feel the pain anymore, just a vague hollowness in the back of her mind. A shiver wracked her body as she relived the memories she'd been trying to shove away for a year. Then precious, baby Alicia came along and broke her out of it, and shifted the gi rl's mindset too, although Skylar wasn't sure what to. "You look hungry," she said in a soft voice, "Would you like something to eat?" Andydandy Rick rolled his eyes as hard as he possible could, beyond done with all of this nonsense. Of course the only one left to presently question for details knew next-to-nothing! "Useless." He huffed, turning his glare on Conrad for elbowing him in the ribs but softening his look when he noticed Conrad had made short work of dolling everything out and e verything seemed to be... as settled as it could be, for now. He shot one more dark look at the young man he had just tried to berate, frustrated he didn't have anything else to say to him and gave a dismissive wave over his shoulder as he stalked away to stand near the bottom of the stairs. From here, he could still see everything going on in the living room, but also potentially hear anything going on upstairs if there was a noticeable scuffle. He didn't know if the lack of any shouting was a relief or not, though. @ashestoapples Lorna shook her head at Ace. "The bullet went through. Luckily. My guess is a pistol or revolver." She managed to eat a bite of a protein bar that Conrad had shoved at her and downed the rest of the water before glancing down at the bag, full of the sticky, red, life blood (literally) that could very well be the difference in saving this kid's life. She figured there was almost enough so she moved her chair a little (with the help of Conrad) so she could see his wound again. She'd bound it all she could for now, but it was bleeding through badly. "Stedman, in the upstairs closet there's an IV pole. Get it." Conrad jumped up and dashed up the stairs, slowing to go around the room the girls were in. He only looked in for a moment, but the awkwardness was hanging like there was another person in there, like awkwardness itself was standing in the room, impossible for anyone to ignore completely. And that was just what he could tell in a couple seconds. Yikes. He padded down the hallway and retrieved the pole. Lorna, downstairs, looked down at the first aid kit and sighed slightly. Bandages (or even spare cloth) and medication were so hard to come by, but he would need something for the pain. If they were lucky, the small amount of vicodin she had wasn't expired. If. Luck wasn't something that favored Lorna. When Conrad returned with the IV pole, Lorna began setting it up, hoping to have enough blood in her bag to set it up soon. It was going swiftly- she could only assume because of her accelerated heartbeat thanks to her nerves. She glanced over at Rick, hoping to convey without words that she was nervous without looking weak. She turned back to the task at hand before glancing at Ace. "Where's Alicia?" (Alicia was getting ready to run for it on the top of the stairs. She didn't understand what was going on in the room, but she knew that she had a bad feeling just looking at Skylord.) CandyLeptic Malina’s eyes shifted from Jane to the shoeless girl to the little kid. The latter looked pretty antsy, and Malina found her eyes back at--- was this skirt girl? Aw man, now she was pissed. She KNEW she was familiar. She wanted to shake her head. Skirts in the apocalypse. “Yeah, I guess.” She was so hungry she probably could have eaten the little girl (Not that she would have though!! Probably not so halal?) but she played it cool. She didn’t want these people thinking she owned them something back, but seeing as they WERE helping her friends- she might as well be helped, too. Would Jane be alone, then? Maybe that w as good- she hadn’t really been alone since they had found her. She followed skirt girl a little ways, wondering again if Jane planned on leaving her and Rashad. Probably not, right? They were all friends, definitely. Honestly though, Malina struggled trying to remember the WalMart trip more vividly. Stupid Prick, she thought, being so distracting with his stupid cart shit! Kryss Jonathan sat back, wrapping his arms around his knees. The man was angry with him now. What could he do to ease the tension? Probably nothing, but he felt like he needed to try anyway. What would Jesus say in this situation? Probably something incredibly profound and personal. Jonathan wasn't that good at talking. Instead he took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry we're imposing on you. God bless you all for helping us though, when we had nowhere else to go." He spoke it with the sincerity that only comes from completely believing in every word. CandyLeptic Chloroform, Rashad realized, acted much differently when applied to oneself. He had been in and out of consciousness, but sometime during the car ride had gathered that they were going to Jane’s old group’s hideout or, rather, something of the sort. He couldn’t quite tell, whether it was the anixeity of a stranger working on you, or the loss of blo od, or the fact that he could faintly hear the rolling of a IV what exactly was happening but he did realize this: exaggerating his condition wouldn’t hurt!! If he had ANY chance of making it, it was because he, or someone in their party, probably invoked someone’s sympathy, and THAT was worth it! After all most importantly, he realized- the girls were completely safe here! Most likely. All three of them! Jane could be taken care of …probably… and Malina could probably find a place here, and – Jon! Jon could….Jon was a male, actually? He had no idea. Speaking of which, while he could hear Jon…. The girl’s voices weren’t so clear. Or existent . Risking it all, he let his eyes flutter open, just for a moment- to get caught by Lorna. He felt his heart drop and quickly shut his eyes closed hard- but the jig was probably up! Kryss Ace sat nearby, ready to lend a hand if Lorna needed anything. She sent Conrad for the IV pole, but he did his best to help her set it up. He was about to ask her how much more blood she could spare, when he caught the briefest flutter from the man's eyes. He shared a glance with Lorna. Was the man waking up? Just to be Safe, Ace positioned himself over him, not in a threatening manner, but just close enough that he could restrain him if he became violent when he fully came to. Kryss Skylar stood, biting her lip. She felt like she needed to say something else to this girl, but she didn't know what She didn't know what suffering they had been through, but her... brother? Uncle?? He was definitely related to her, was shot and bleeding downstairs. She straightened her clothes awkwardly and said, "So do you want to go down to the k itchen? Or would you rather me bring something up here?" She wouldn't mind giving the girl a tour of the house to make her more comfortable, if it came to that, although she could hear Lorna yelling at her already. Andydandy Rick tried to return Lorna a reassuring glance, but he didn't know if she noticed before she was already looking away and focusing on her task. There was the tiniest bit of noise coming from up the stairs, but Ace had also just chosen to surprisingly ignore Lorna's question, which was completely uncharacteristic and drew Rick's attention more. He r aised an eyebrow, waiting for some kind of signal that he could either join them over there or what. @ashestoapples Lorna noticed this as well and was glad she had finished setting up the IV pole before he opened his eyes. She was also glad he wasn't passed out for long-it meant he might actually survive. "Doctor?" Lorna said before glancing over at Rick and giving him a 'you can come over here you loser' head bob. "Lorna F--Calhoun. We've met. Are you okay?" she asked, trying not to sound too strict but absolutely sounding a little so. Conrad was hovering near Jonathan, hoping the presence of (what he hoped was!) a kindred spirit would be reassuring. Alicia ducked for cover back in her and Ace's room, afraid of getting injured or killed by scary people or worse, getting in trouble by Ace or the Scarlet Witch. CandyLeptic Rashad tensed up- well aware he was caught but also worried that they would have been upset at him for some reason. In his light headedness he, for some reason, thought they’d bully him. When Lorna spoke however, his false pretenses left him, and he cautiously flitted his eyes open at them. The man right over him was NOT familiar in the least, and he shrunk back into the couch a little ways. He got his shoulder blade under him, and managed to lightly raise his hands in a defensive pose, or something close! When Lorna went to pronounce the “-F” Rashad eyes raised, thinking she intended to say “Lorna FUCKING Calhoun” or something of the sort! As he lightly sighed in relief, he started to slowly look around for the girls before his face wrinkled in pain. Physical pain was truly the enemy of all pain, and he wished to lose consciousness again more than anything! He closed his eyes hard again. It wasn’t a constant pain just yet- it faded in and out. If he had better will power, he would have held his breath to pass out but he ended up refiling his lungs soon despite anything. He couldn’t remember if someone talked to him, so he just started up at them, deeply confused. CandyLeptic Malina looked at Jane again and sighed. Should she really leave her alone like that? No, she shouldn’t. But now she was starting to get worried about Rashad, so she started to shake her head hard. “I’m going. Stay here with her.” She didn’t really want to trust anyone (ever, honestly) but she didn’t know what else to do. The grey areas like this- w here the right answer wasn’t clear cut, really pissed her off. Malina turned her back on the other girl before she answered and was out the door, and turned to go down the stairs quickly before seeing Prick standing down there. She looked at him for a moment before raising an eyebrow. What, was he guarding the stares? She thought for a moment that she might not be let down for some reason, so she stopped to st are at him for a moment.
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Orior
Jun 26, 2015 14:55:04 GMT -6
Post by kryss on Jun 26, 2015 14:55:04 GMT -6
Jonathan gave a deep sigh, looking up at the boy who looked about his age. Maybe a little older.
"I'm sorry we're intruding. You all are very, very generous to accept us like this." He was about to say more when Rashad began moving. He stood quickly, his own troubles forgotten. He hurried forward, hands held awkwardly in front of him at first, then hanging limply by his side, then tucked in his pocket, then out again, then wringing each other. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked earnestly. He had no idea what may be required, and the doctor did seem like she had several helpers already, but he knew there was always something. Please help his recovery, he prayed, Lord, please ease his pain and suffering, please knit the wounds and stem the blood. Keep him in your hands.
Ace moved from his position hovering over the man quickly, as it appeared he was not about to lash out at anyone. He moved around instead to his head, giving Lorna a glance to see if it was alright to help him sit up. He placed his hands beneath the man's shoulders, just in case. He was careful to keep his presence and grip steady, comforting, and unobtrusive. He knew how shaky wounded soldiers could be after awakening. There was no reason to put any unnecessary stress on the man, at least not anymore than he already had.
Skylar stood awkwardly for a moment, prickling from the unpleasant conversation and the girl's sudden departure. Was there something she could have said to make it better? Probably not, the girl seemed like she was ready to fight anyone over anything. Still, she hoped there was something someone could do to make her feel more welcome. Remembering who was downstairs, she made a face. Not likely. Well, maybe Conrad could do something, at least. Although if memory served, that was the little girl who had threatened to shoot him in the mole. So maybe not.
She returned to the side of the bed and sat for a few moments, looking sadly at Jane. Anger and fear and sadness welled up together. She didn't know how to feel. Should she be offended by Jane's presence? But it was hard to get over the missing arm, and the bedraggled appearance of someone so, so very tiny. She sighed and closed her eyes, resting her hand lightly on Jane's leg. After a few minutes she stood, striding to the door. Alicia had disappeared somewhere. She walked to the railing and leaned against it, looking down on the hectic scene below. Here she was, useless again. The only person she had managed to offer help to had rejected it pretty stoutly. And all the while she couldn't shake the wondering thought in the back of her head. Were these people here to stay? Did they have two... three... two? Three? new additions to their household? It wasn't as easy a decision as Ace and Alicia were, or Jane the first time. Those had been clearly helpless, or clearly useful people. Who knew what these strangers had in store.
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Orior
Jul 17, 2015 0:07:48 GMT -6
Post by macxcheese on Jul 17, 2015 0:07:48 GMT -6
andydandy Rick was just about to move over towards Lorna, secretly grateful for the signal that he could do something besides stand against the wall - when something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he froze. It was more out of habit than anything else, as he figured before he even turned his head it would undoubtedly be one of the girls from earlier at the top of the stairs. Low and behold, it was the dark-skinned girl staring down at him, looking confused but at least she didn't seem to have murderous intent. He stared back at her, raising an eyebrow as if asking her 'Whadder ya lookin' at? Do I have somethin' on my face 'sides da beard?' He scratched his chin, turning away and heading towards Lorna at least with a shrug, letting the girl decide for herself whether or not she wanted to come down the stairs. ashestoapples Lorna looked at Rashad quizzically, unsure if she should keep him awake now that he was awake or if she should let him sleep. She thought he would be okay but was still worried either way- the fact he was awake at all almost made her feel silly for being so quick to start putting her blood in a bag. She knew he was probably fading in and out though, so she tried again. "My name is Lorna Calhoun- we've met. Are you alright? Do you need anything?" She knew he was in mass amounts of pain, but she also knew she didn't have much to help that. If anything. What she did have was probably all bad now. "What happened?" She had to ask merely because it looked like the gun had been fired /at/ him. Conrad was unsure if Lorna's tone was very convincing- but it was... softer than usual, he supposed. Alicia, upstairs, decided to worm her way back to Skylar's legs, hiding behind them as she looked at all the new people. Rule number 1- never talk to people unless Ace says so. Rule number 3- Always stay near Ace or someone Ace says is okay to stay near. (Skylord is okay.) Ace was downstairs, though, and she was nervous. She had brought Steve with her for security, but even she knew it couldn't keep her from harm. No, not at all. "Skyword?" she whispered finally, in a little kid's whisper that is almost talking volume but still wispy. macxcheeseJane could only feel and all she felt was pain. It throbbed up from her arm and into her chest, choking her words and muffling the world. She wondered what was going on out there. She wondered how long it would take to pass out from holding her breath. No, that was stupid. If she accidentally died she would hate herself more than she already did. And it would be eternal. But she wasn’t going to just lie here, feeling like she was slowly dying. Which to be honest, she could be. She grit her teeth and made herself open her eyes. Ceiling. Not white fluffy clouds or burning caves or whatever hell was. Good sign. /Okay now move/. She strained her back and her body protested. /You’re not even hurt/, she told herself. /Move you jackass!/ She used her arms to brace herself and felt what she imagined lightning would feel like strike up her arm. A weak yelp escaped her and she plopped back on the bed. /WHAT THE FUCK/. Candyleptic Rashad managed a forced but friendly “Hi, Ms. Lorna” before he had to clamp his teeth to the insides of his cheeks to distract from pain. He swore that worked for a fraction of a second before he was reminded of his leg though. He swallowed hard and his eyes darted to the approaching figure of Rick. He felt a ping of nervousness and an overwhelming desire to say /something/, especially as the man came closer. Lorna’s tone said one thing but so did a robust, possibly psychotic gentleman (he remembered the shopping carts, believe it or not!). Rashad breathed in and out for a good while before he could get words out- he had to though, talking was /scientifically proven/ to reduce pain. Funny how science didn’t seem to be doing much for him NOW, though! “I shot myself.” He said, with more confidence than he would have guessed. He actually looked a little less tensed for a second; he was proud of himself. Rashad was then much quicker to follow up though, and struggled to sit up, now very conscious of everyone looking at him (all strangers at first, too! As if he hadn’t come with company, he noticed). “I uh, I was-“ he tried to gesture with his hand but tensed again- the pain definitely made him want to cry in a little ball rather than tell a story, but something inside of him was also excited. He really never got to tell strangers much of anything, and despite the happenstance the house was so normal and- “/They/ were everywhere and Jane- poor Jane, so scared. And I…/I’m/ not a good shot!” /That’s right, make them feel bad for you AND Jane!/ “But I tried and- and I missed! And I put my gun on my thigh to reload and when I skipped the- the-“ He managed to gesture this time, “The…ro…tator? The spinning thing? On a revolver- ah-“ he stopped for a moment and breathed in and out before adding, “It fired. Into my thigh.” And then he nodded. Honestly he was quite ready to believe himself after that performance! But soon his expression broke and he could feel his vision getting blurry. At first Rashad was ready to pass out- he really wanted to, but in some sick twist of fate, his sight was corrected when tears fell down his face. Candyleptic Malina squinted as Rick walked away. She kinda did want to fight him now. She was anxious and felt out of place, so naturally this was the ideal time and place to fight just about anyone. But he left, and she was alone (or close to it, relatively) and she couldn’t handle that, either. She swiftly came back down the stairs before looking back to Jane’s door, and stopped to see Rashad talking to everyone. She ‘tch’d under her breath. Fucking drama queen. She’d fight him later, honestly. She got a little closer, and cautiously peeked over bodies to see him crying. She looked away and took a step back. This was so embarrassing. She didn’t want to see him cry but she could feel her face getting red too. No man at home ever cried, what was he doing? Dad would be so… so mad. But Malina pushed the thought away, and instead made her way back towards Jonathan, not knowing what to do with herself. Kryss Jonathan: The woman, Lorna, ignored him, which made sense. He was pretty useless, after all. He looked around nervously, unsure of what to do. Rattling off a few more prayers, he glanced over and saw Malina approaching him. He raised his hand, barely. "Hello," he said in a hushed tone, trying to avoid interrupting, or even really being noticed by anyone. "Do you need anything? The boy over there brought me some food, but I haven't eaten it. Do you want any?" he felt like he was being imposing, but he didn't know what else to do. Should he.... he felt like he shouldn't touch her. And that definitely wasn't because he was afraid of her. Kryss Ace: Seeing the man struggling to sit up, he helped him, making sure he was upright, and that his leg was repositioned properly with minimal movement. He glanced over at Lorna, uncertain. He had gotten a decent view of the wound when as he'd helped. It looked like it was at an upward angle, or shot from below him. It was certainly possible for that to be self inflicted, especially with a revolver, but it would be difficult to do. And it didn't seem like a point-blank range shot. But he would leave it up to her if she was going to say anything or not. Kryss Skylar: She felt something touch her leg and froze, looking down. It took her no time to relax when she saw Alicia, and at the girl's tiny not-whisper, she bent down and scooped her up, balancing her on her hip. "Hello, tiny small baby. A lot of excitement today, huh?" She wiggled Steve while he was still in Alicia's grip, trying to make her giggle. She heard a faint sound from Jane's room and turned, only moving at not-lightning speed because she was holding Alicia. She peeked in the door. Was... was Jane awake? andydandy Rick moved in a wide circle around the couch, avoiding getting too close to it as though the thing was covered in venomous vipers rather than one single, injured man Rick was pretty sure he could take even if the guy was in better shape. He crossed his arms as he slowly moved closer to Lorna, which in turn placed him closer to Rashad, and if his defensive stance was mistaken for something more hostile, well... that was just icing on the cake. His eyebrow remained poised on the plane of his forehead, curious about the man's tale of aborted self preservation ('Really, he managed to shoot /himself/?' Rick snickered internally. Even he hadn't managed to pull that off, and his teacher only had one eye!), but unlike Ace, Rick didn't know enough about angles or firearms to poke any holes in the tale. He sighed loudly as Rashad started crying, letting his head fall back until his chin was pointed towards the ceiling. "So, we've gotta one-armed Judas, a dude who treated his own leg as target practise, n a lil girl who seems intent on givin' everyone the stink eye." As if sensing it, Rick lowered his head only to wind up making eye contact with said viciously angry girl, who narrowed her eyes even further in his direction. "Greeeeat! Should I whip up somethin' fer dinner? We can all sit 'round the table like one big, happy family?" ashestoapples Lorna eyed him warily. While it was certainly possible he could have shot himself, it was.... extremely unlikely. And the damage would have been much more severe had he actually shot himself. She gave him a long look, eyebrows moving slowly downward involuntarily. If it was a lie, why? If it had been enemies, he would have just said so-- unless he was protecting one of his own. The kid with the cross on his shirt maybe? His sister? No, he remembered. She was a good shot. That left the kid and... Jane. She squinted without realizing it before standing and looking at Rick, as if he were the only person in the room. "If you wouldn't mind, a meal would be good," she said with a curt nod. "Thank you." Afterwards, she looked over at Ace, holding his eye contact for a moment. They had seen a lot of wounds in their time- she wasn't sure if this Doctor would be stupid enough to lie to them. She would let it go. For now. She looked up at Skylar who had her back to them. "And Stedman," she said, successfully perking him up on high alert. "Maybe bring Alicia down here." Conrad nodded, unsure of her reasoning, but went upstairs to fetch Alicia anyway. Lorna backed out of the room and went to the back room without saying another word. Conrad had reached the top of the stairs to find himself between Skylar, who happened to be locked in a trance, and Jane who looked lucid at this point. Wordlessly, he reached his hands out to Skylar. "Alicia, let's go to Ace, alright?" She nodded and reached out for Conrad, still holding her beloved plush cat. macxcheeseJane’s breath quickened as she stared at the ceiling. She suddenly noticed how warm she felt. Maybe it was these blankets. She moved one leg with a little effort, shoving some of the comforter to the side. All the while, her eyes peered out the door, wondering if anyone was out there. Unbeknownst to her, she looked hazy, like she wasn’t all there. And maybe she wasn’t, since every now and then she would see a black dot swirl just out her path of vision. Candyleptic Rashad tried to wipe his face before anyone noticed but it was far too late already. He didn’t catch all of what Rick had said because his mind was already racing. They didn’t believe his story or well- at least Lorna seemed not to. Rashad was well aware there was a man behind him, but he tried his best to just ignore him. He didn’t want something else to stress about. Quite honestly though, even if he wasn’t shot Lorna alone could take him easily, and that kept his heart rate up alone. Rick’s tone terrified him to the bone though, and he sunk into whoever was behind him unwillingly. He wanted to play hero and offer a “throw me out, keep the girls,” but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even if he was 100%, he couldn’t bring himself out to brave outside again, and he’d much rather die in here. So he did his best to just look terrified (he really didn’t have to try though!) and quietly whimper to himself as the pain started to creep back up on him. Malina shrugged off Jon harshly at first, but then immediately felt a little guilty. This kid was probably traumatized too. Yeah, maybe like…9% was HER fault (or at least, that was what she was going to tell herself right now…) so she mumbled a forced “hi.” She shook her head at the food offer though. She was starving, but she had gotten used to it. She didn’t want their food because that meant she probably had to pay them back later for it. You never didn’t have to. She was quite ready to come to terms with dying though. Rashad would probably die (and the thought ripped her up, but she refused to show it), and they’d probably throw her and Jane out. And she wasn’t a doctor! But if she took this meal and didn’t repay them, then she might not get reincarnated into something good- and right now that’s all she could think about. That was until Rick’s outburst. All of her sappiness turned into the same raw anger that usually lit up her eyes, and the only thing that stopped her was Lorna’s voice telling him to make them something to eat. *edit!* There it was. Something hit her where it really hurt again and shut her right up while sweeping a look of vulnerability all over her face. It nearly knocked the breath right out of her. It was so normal for them. She didn't even want to eat with them, now that they were willing to just "whip something up"! as if food wasn't even an issue. She actually was hoping for the opposite (as much as her stomach pained for food), because she wanted to believe that, perhaps, the situation was reason enough to abandon all social convention aside from necessities for survival, and although Rashad tended to stick to them, Malina wanted to believe that was only because they were better than the majority. Something about her brother and her and Jane and their old group separated them from the other animals outside. But that wasn't the case if these people still showed humanistic compassion (or something close, regardless) which meant that everyone didn't have to, they chose to.... But even though this occurred to Malina, she didn't process it all right away. Instead, she put her head down and squinted her eyes hard. She would think about this later, because crying in front of anyone took priority, and it needed to be avoided at all costs.
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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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Orior
Aug 6, 2015 0:23:20 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on Aug 6, 2015 0:23:20 GMT -6
Kryss
Jonathan: He stood awkwardly. Okay, she had greeted him. That was an improvement on holding him at gunpoint, right? But she didn't want food. Which he didn't believe, because she hadn't eaten since... the night before? That morning? Things had kind of blurred together. Although maybe she just felt like him. He was hungry, but he also knew he couldn't eat even it he wanted to. His mouth was dry, his throat was clogged, and his stomach was in knots. And now... now was she going to cry? Ahhhh should he... do something? For her? Um... He hesitantly put a hand out, then took it back, then put it out again, then took it back. He still didn't feel it was right to touch her.
"Do you want to be in here?" he asked. Maybe it was hard to see her brother in such pain. "Or would you rather leave? You don't have to watch this."
Kryss
Ace: Catching Lorna's eye, he nodded minutely. Feeling Rashad sink into him suddenly, he moved with it, keeping a steady support. He laid the man gently on the back of the couch in a sitting position, then headed to the kitchen, watching to see if Lorna followed. She obviously wanted to talk, and he was pretty sure he knew about what. Seeing that Conrad had Alicia with him, Ace felt a small knot of tension loosen. It was still tight enough that the only way to undo it was to cut through, but still it was looser than it had been.
Kryss
Skylar: Seeing movement in the room, her heart picked up again. Jane was awake. What should she do? What should she say? She took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment, then headed to the door. She opened it carefully and stood just inside the room.
"Jane? Are you awake?" The answer was obvious, but it was the first thing that came to mind
ashestoApples
Lorna pushed Ace past the kitchen and into the back room, in hopes of talking to him and also researching into this bullet wound that was supposedly self-inflicted. Once they were in the back, she eyeballed him solemnly for a moment before breaking off and approaching her bookshelf.
"Is it safe to assume that that didn't look right to you either?"
She asked carefully and quietly, so that if anyone was listening they might maybe possibly not know what she was talking about specifically. She would bring up Alicia later.
ashestoApples
Conrad, unsure of what to do, set Alicia down near the back room so she could find Ace. Fairly certain Lorna had a reason, he left her to her own doing and crept into the kitchen to see if he could be useful there. Being useful was better than his default of just taking up space in any case.
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Orior
Aug 9, 2015 20:56:14 GMT -6
Post by macxcheese on Aug 9, 2015 20:56:14 GMT -6
Jane came to realize why everything hurt so much when she tried to move her left arm again. The images played like a sped up movie through her head, faces blurring past her. Finn. Conrad. Lorna. Skylar. Rick. Ace. Alicia. Malina. Rashad. Volkov. Jonathan. She wondered if the last one was dead. She'd shot him right?
No. No, she'd shot Rashad. That explained why he wasn't here and why her arm hurt so much. Had they even grabbed the drugs? Their bags and supplies?
All those questions were shoved aside by a voice outside her head. She peered over at the source, squinting at it- her. Skylar. She opened her mouth to reply 'Yes and I'm very sorry and please for the love of god knock me out.' Yet all that came out was, "Yegaim vey sow-" and then she gave up and continued staring helplessly at the other girl, hoping she'd get the message.
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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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Orior
Aug 10, 2015 21:17:05 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on Aug 10, 2015 21:17:05 GMT -6
Malina ignored Jonathan at first, but this kid was pretty persistent! What was his deal, anyway?? Why did he care so much, he had only just met them? Her eyes watched Lorna and the big guy walk out before flicking back to Jon. She looked into his eyes, considering saying something before her brows lowered quickly with a scoff. She didn't have time for a therapy session even if she was feeling open to one. Still, it was the kind of act that you'd remember later, after things calm down (if ever).
She made her way to Rashad, nervously at first, and the two locked eyes before Malina's eyes squinted down. "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" she whisper-cried, and then quickly walked back to Jon to pull him over for a "team meeting." "YOU SHOT-....YOU SHOT YOURSELF? UGH." She looked to the sky for help from a divinity or Ghandi or someone.
Rashad tried to re-position himself, especially because the three of them were finally alone (aside from Alicia) and he didn't want them to see his wound up close. He already was feeling quite embarrassed, but he was scared now that his rouse might be up. He bit his cheek to prevent "ow ow ow" from spilling out, but it was still audible. While Malina huffed and tried to hide how upset she was, Rashad blinked hard at the two of them. "Jane," he called out, and tried to look over the couch's back for her.
"Where's Jane?" He looked accusingly at Malina, who then looked accusingly at Jon. She only held his gaze for a moment (he was kinda sorta nice, SHE GUESSED,) before taking a deep breath. "I'll go to her." She didn't want to tell him what happened when they got here, but she also felt like he already had an idea. She pointed a finger at Jon, "Watch him!!" and started to go before turning on her heel abruptly. "AND YOU," she pointed to Rashad, and managed to keep her composure a split second before tearing up and shaking, "D-don't die!!! Ugh!" She started for the steps before nearly running into Alicia.
Feeling a split pang of guilt and embarrassment (she hoped she didn't work Alicia up, too,) she spit out a "S-sorry!" and quickly bounded for Jane's room.
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Orior
Aug 17, 2015 1:52:09 GMT -6
Post by macxcheese on Aug 17, 2015 1:52:09 GMT -6
Kryss Jonathan was mostly confused as he allowed himself to be dragged along. He was almost as surprised as Malina. There hadn't been enough time for questioning when they'd gotten to the car, and to find out Rashad had shot himself was disturbing. How long had this man been in the apocalypse? But Jon had no room to talk, he was fairly certain if he ever shot a gun he would kill himself. Or at least put his eye out. Malina's train of thought traveled almost too fast for him to follow, and all he could do was put his hands up in defense when she glared at him. He hadn't done anything to Jane! The other girl had taken her, and he had thought that Malina had followed! When she finally ran upstairs, he let out a breath, then looked down at Rashad. "I'm very, very sorry." he said, looking around awkwardly. "Can I... get you anything?" What a stupid question. The man was shot. "Some.... food or something?" He was making it worse! Kryss Ace followed Lorna and stood, mouth pursed and eyes already telling the answer. "If he'd had it against his leg like he claims," he said simply, "There would be much more damage. Everything else could possibly be explained, but I can't get past that thought." He watched her as she reached for books, making sure to keep his voice quiet and even, as she had. Kryss Skylar wasn't sure how to react. A surge of anger welled up inside her, but it didn't seem right unleashing it on a half-asleep wounded girl. Watching her half-lidded eyes and languorous movements, she bit her lip and looked to the side. Fortunately she was saved from dealing with much more as heavy footsteps resounded up the stairs. It wasn't long before the little angry girl burst into the room. Skylar swallowed down her feelings and blinked the hot tears away. What did she want?’ ashestoApples Lorna nodded silently before putting one book back and picking up another. "I thought so too," she said steadily, turning so she could see him out of the corner of her eye. "What reasons would he have to lie?" she asked simply, setting the books down on a table. "I can only think of two-- and one... one would be an issue." She was almost whispering now, but her words, though controlled, were forceful- they held a promise. Alicia had flitted in and put her free hand up to take Ace's, looking up and over at Lorna and back at him a couple times quizzically. Lorna's eyes fell on her for a meaningful moment before she turned back to her books. She opened one particular medical book she'd found in the prosthetic's side of the building she was in, stopping near the beginning. She wasn't ready for the prosthetics part just yet, she was far more interested in the early portions of the book talking about losing limbs in general. As she suspected, she wasn't finding what she was looking for. Shuffling the stack a bit, she picked up a different book entirely- one on post-traumatic stress disorder and that family therein. All of this happened very quickly- having a photographic memory came in handy. ashestoApples Conrad grew nervous with each passing second as he helped Rick in the kitchen. How were they going to survive if these people stayed? The place was going to be very cramped and their supplies would dwindle. He began attempting to see maps in his head, trying to remember the closest area he could go to where they hadn't already scavenged. They'd picked most of the surrounding areas clean- only a few places remained in the central part of the state. He frowned as he got down some dishes from the cupboard. What would happen when they had to go out of state for food...? macxcheese Jane deflated at Skylar’s hesitance. She knew it was deserved, yet it still hurt. And speaking of hurt, she still needed a way out of her current pain. She took a deep breath and heaved herself up with her good arm. The room suddenly swirled and rushed at her, making her plop back down. A throttled sound rumbled in her throat when Malina burst in. Jane’s eyes widened a bit in surprise- and hope. Maybe the younger girl would be able to help. Or at least put her out of her misery for a while. candylepticRashad looked back at Malina, touched for a moment until his face tensed again. Trying to laugh it of, he joking reached out for Jon for a moment, “Why did we leave the drugggsss,” and tried to pass a few “ows” as laughs. Seeing he wasn’t very humorous, (at least not posthumous ) he tried to reposition himself again, and found a relatively comfortable spot that would just have to do. Honestly he was always hungry, but he still waved away the offer of food. Malina and he had grown so accustomed to hunger that receiving food – and then triggering the bodily effects of digestion and the wanting of more – actually seemed to be worse. He also feared of asking too much; even if he couldn’t remember his last meal, he still almost felt the obligation to not be rude to these people. “Don’t be sorry Jon, this is all my fault.” After a moment Rashad forced some air out of his lower lip, which thus carried some hair from his face. “I’m sorry! I wish you wouldn’t have gotten so involved with us.” He forced out another light laugh, “I wouldn’t have imagined us being a ‘touch bunch,’ but here we are….!” candylepticMalina didn’t mind making a bit of a scene. In fact, it hadn’t even really occurred to her that she had. She looked over Jane first, noting she was awake (should she go tell Rashad now or later?) before her eyes fell on Skylar. Seeing how unhappy this girl was, Malina’s brows lowered, thinking at first this was intended for her! And maybe it was, but for now Malina didn’t instigate. Looking back to Jane, Malina slumped next to Skylar (but not too close!) and looked down at her. “How are you Jane?” She asked, stealing glances back at the other girl. She ended up just casting her eyes down though. The space right behind them grew sore and weary, and holding up her head was already hard enough! Kryss Jonathan smiled nervously, glancing to the side. He didn't know how to handle Rashad's attitude. The man was clearly in massive pain, but what could he do about it? In fact, there really was only one thing to do. He gulped at the thought. He would never have done this of his own accord, but this was for someone else. Only one thing made him hesitate. Malina had told him to watch Rashad. But this was for Rashad's own good, right? He continued doing his best to smile and said, "It's fine. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Listen, I'll be right back, alright?" He left the room through the door everyone else had gone through. Seeing only the boy from before and the intimidating capped man, he scooted awkwardly sideways to where he could hear voices. Peering in, he found the doctor and the other, also intimidating but quieter man. Realizing he had interrupted a conversation, he stuttered, "I-I'm sorry, but... He's in a lot of pain. Is there anything you can do for him? We don't have medicine with us." He looked at the ground, unable to meet their eyes, even the eyes of the tiny girl in the large man's arms. Kryss Only one or two reasons to lie. It was true. If he hadn't shot himself, there weren't many reasons he would want to keep the truth from them. And it really boiled down to one reason. Whoever did shoot him was someone he wanted to protect. That would be, most likely, his sister, Jane, or the other boy. He couldn't be sure which one, although from the body language between them he didn't think they were close enough to the other boy for him to lie so blatantly to protect him. Ace's mouth stretched into an even thinner line until Alicia took his hand. He looked down at her and his expression softened. He picked her up while Lorna looked, and murmured to her, "Where's Steve?" Everything was interrupted when the new boy stuck his head in the room and asked for medicine. Ace gazed at him steadily, only flicking his gaze to Lorna for a split second. This was her call. But he knew what the right thing to do was. Kryss Skylar looked over at the girl, then back to Jane. The small girl kept wincing, whether she realized it or not. "Can you move?" she said finally, weariness in her voice. If they could get her downstairs, they could get her medicine and food. If not, they still could, but it would take longer and more cajoling from the Lo-po. She knew it was probably important to keep Jane in bed, anyway. That wound looked terrifyingly new. ashestoApples Lorna stared at the boy for longer than she should have, probably before setting the books down again and heading toward him. "Yes," she replied shortly, moving past him to get to the first aid kit that she'd left at the foot of the couch. She undid the latches and rifled through it to find-- yes, there it was. There was so little left, but... She looked at Rashad wearily before taking two vicodins out of their containter. Moving quickly, she knelt in front of Rashad and handed him a stray water bottle she recognized as Conrad's. After handing the water to Rashad, she took out her knife and used her notebook as a surface to crush the pills. "It should work faster this way," she explained. "B ut it's very bitter." She scooped the dust carefully onto a piece of paper she ripped out of the notebook and gave it to Rashad. At this point, she stood and glanced over at the boy who'd come for her. "Is there anything else?" ashestoApples Alicia looked down at her hands as if surprised by the revelation that she didn't have Steve. "Uh-oh," she said quietly. "Donno where!" She frowned, looking around the room. She got distracted though, as if suddenly remembering something. "Ace?" she asked, her high voice faltering a little. "Is Gwen Stay-cee a bad guy now?" Alicia only knew how to ask this way- she felt the heaviness in the air and the unease in the house, despite her young mind being unable to properly comprehend it. All she knew was that it had to do with Jane. macxcheese Jane stared blankly at the two girls, trying to gather the words she needed. A few moments of heavy breathing later she tested her verbal skills. “H-hurts. My a-arm.” Then to Skylar, “No. I-” She glanced into the older girl’s eyes for a second, then studied the space between her and Malina. She decided to leave the rest of the words for later, when she was confident her speech didn’t sound like a garbled mess. candylepticRashad smiled at Jonathan touched – at first. When he left though, Rashad’s face was painted with worry and guilt, and he nervously laughed for Jon to come back! Reaching for him, he nearly fell off the couch before putting his attention back to his leg momentarily. He moaned an “Oh no…” when the boy left. He was sure they weren’t very happy with him; maybe they didn’t believe his story, but he was more worried they were discussing the fact that he amputated Jane, and really didn’t expect them to be happy with his choice there. He prepped for the worst, eyes nearly tight shut, before surprisingly taking the water Miss Lorna offered. He gently unscrewed the cap, eyes wide open as she smashed the pills to a fine powder. He looked from her face to the powder, and almost (almost!) had it in him to make a joke about ALSO being very bitter, but his tongue felt tied. He quickly downed the powder and took a quick sip before letting out a cough. Bitter was right! He let out a few more lighter coughs before nodding as a thank you. He still couldn’t muster out words, unfortunately. candylepticMalina puffed her cheek. She tried to remember when Rashad had given her something last, but thinking hurt her head real bad. She didn’t look away from Jane, but she said outloud to Skylar; “Maybe we should get her something.” Kryss Jonathan followed the doctor silently, with his eyes glued to the floor. If he didn't make eye contact with anyone, maybe they wouldn't talk to him! He watched as she administered the medicine to Rashad, trying to project a comforting presence. How the heck did you do that? When Lorna asked him, he bit his lip. Jane had been on a lot of drugs when they'd arrived at his church. He had been able to tell on the way over, even while they were all still high on adrenaline, that she was beginning to hurt. He supposed, if she was asking... "Jane's arm is still unhealed." he said,still not meeting her eyes. "I'm sure it hurts her an awful lot." He could feel himself sweating under his shirt, and his heart was beating faster. But Jane needed her medicine too, right? What was medicine for, if not injured people? He hoped the doctor would think that way as well. Kryss Ace stayed in the room for a moment after Lorna abruptly left, followed by the boy. He balanced Alicia, trying to think of a good answer. He had learned all her nicknames quickly long ago - it was necessary to communicate with her. "Not a bad guy," he said slowly, "But she may be sick, and we may not be friends. We have to wait and see." He walked over and looked at the book Lorna had been reading. PTSD. If that was the case, and it probably was for a lot of reasons, then maybe he could help. He walked into the kitchen and set Alicia down. "Why don't you help Rick and Conrad for a while?" he suggested. He had a feeling things were about to get heated, and he didn't want her caught in the crossfire. Giving Conrad a glance, indicating he expected him to take care of her, he continued into the living room. Kryss Skylar sighed, looking away as Jane pathetically stumbled through a handful of words. This was painful, she was painful, and pained. Clenching her hands for a moment, she said, "Alright. I'll see what Lorna has." She walked out of the room. She wanted to say more to Jane, she wanted to help Jane and be there for her, but she couldn't. Not right now. She walked stiffly down the stairs and said as persuasively as she could, "Jane's in a lot of pain. She needs some medicine, there's got to be some we can spare." She readied herself for a harsh reaction. She knew how sharp Lorna's tongue could get when she was stressed.
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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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Orior
Aug 21, 2015 0:47:54 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on Aug 21, 2015 0:47:54 GMT -6
ashestoApples Lorna's lips formed a thin line but she nodded, moving to her kit again. She found some of the same pills she'd given to Rashad and made her way with them and another stray bottle (she recognized this one as Skylar's) up the stairs, looming in the doorway darkly. She made a point to quickly crush the pills into a powder again into the piece of paper she'd used before. She walked in the door, sensing they'd just been talking by the silence in the air, and set the bottle and the paper with the dust from the pills on the side table. "This dosage is strong enough to make you drowsy," she explained to the wall in front of her before turning and leaving, almost robotically. She climbed down the stairs again. "Anything else?" she asked anyone who was listening. She did her best to come off as polite, but she knew from experience that she sounded cold. She had half a mind to make some accusations here and now- they were in her house, using her things, after all- but she knew she wouldn't kick injured people out, no matter how many lies they told, so she decided to wait for now. Wait until they were healed enough to talk. The apocalypse had made her wary of people, suspicious maybe, and definitely more alert of a lie, but it hadn't made her devoid of feeling (though some may argue that). ashestoApples Conrad was quiet in the kitchen, not wanting to disturb the looming frustrated air of silence in the kitchen. He knew if he got Rick started he might never quit. He turned his attention to Alicia after setting a platter down on the island. "Hey there, Alicia," he said kindly, worming his way around Rick to get to her. He picked her up and smiled warmly at her. "Where's Steve?" ashestoApples "Ace ask me dat!" Alicia said, almost offended. "Donno 'zactly!" Conrad stifled a laugh and nodded. "Should we go look for him?" he asked her kindly. Alicia turned her head toward the doorway where Ace had been. "Wanna, but Ace said help Spidaman an Holk." Conrad smiled. "I have a very important job for you, okay? Top Secret. You can't tell anybody." Alicia's eyes were wide as saucers but she moved her finger across her mouth in a 'zipper' motion. Conrad moved her to a chair and pulled out another dining chair where he knew the fuzzball had been last. "I need you to keep Mr. Whiskers company." The cat, having been disturbed from his slumber in the seat of a dining chair, blinked sleepily and yawned widely. "He sleeps so much because he's lonely. But don't tell anyone, because Mr. Whiskers is trying to be brave." He put the cat in Alicia's lap and she nodded at Conrad before petting Mr. Whiskers gently with the flow of his fur like Ace taught her. "You're doing great," Conrad assured her, picking up a stray notebook and pencil and setting it on the table in front of her. "You can draw a picture for Rick too," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper. "Or anyone else you want. Everyone could use a picture." Alicia smiled at him. Even her young self knew when she was being told to just keep to her own devices for a while. She picked up the pencil and attempted to draw some people which mostly looked like heads with arms and legs sticking out of them. "Great," Conrad said, walking over to help Rick again. "Awesome." He peered nervously out the kitchen. The distrust mingled in the air like bad weather outside the kitchen too. He didn't like it. macxcheese Jane peered at the two girls from under her eyelids, pleased that they got her message. She fidgeted a bit under the sheets. She felt half between passing out and running around the room in an attempt to distract herself from the pain. She didn’t even notice Skylar leaving until Malina shifted. She just stared at the blank space, not wanting to look at the younger girl. It didn’t even seem like a moment before the air changed, and even with only half a right mind she knew who was there. Her eyes cast downward, blood rushing to her ears. She barely heard what was said. For all she knew Lorna could be scorning her. Jane had no room for shame right now though, and the second the woman left she reached for the bottle. Rashad was a bit out of it between the pain and the bitterness of the medicine, but also because he realized how parched he was. And without thinking he quickly finished off the entire bottle given to him before his eyes caught Jon. Feeling a tremendous guilt down, he looked down at the empty bottle and winced from the pain and the fact that he had been so selfish. Had they offered Jon water or not? Would they? Actually, didn’t Miss Lorna mention before that she had a well or something along those lines? “Thank you for that, Jon. Really. And for thinking of Jane, too.” He felt a huge sense of guilt for not asking the second they got there. He did feel that he had been betrayed, but he had to constantly remind himself that it was more of his fault than anything. He moved a little closer to Jon and spoke softly while Lorna was still busy. “How many are here? Have you seen more?” His tone was worried. He had no idea if they could even afford to give them what they had already done. The feelings of awkwardness was getting too much for Malina to bare. Plus, if Jane was going to get drowsy from the stuff Ginger Braid gave her, she figured maybe she would give her some space. That and the brunette from earlier probably wanted to talk to her. Malina actually was a little jealous- where they friends? But now really wasn’t the time for that. After she saw Lorna start to take off, she quickly followed her, and almost knocked into her back when she turned. “Uh…” Malina started, trying to blink the sleepiness and stress from her eyes. “Can I help with anything? It’s kinda….the least I could do.” She stared at the floor. She supposed for now, she could try to ease the burden they had already placed on them. Kryss Jon shook his head at Rashad's question. "I only saw the ones who were here before." Realizing Rashad may have not taken everyone in, he specified, "There's an older girl, a boy, a big man with a cap on, another big man, and a little girl." He didn't think to list Lorna, considering she was just up the stairs and had given Rashad his medicine. He made sure not to look at Lorna as she asked. He was feeling awkward, and didn't want to impose any more than he already had. "Is there anything else you need?" he asked. Maybe he could keep himself busy helping Rashad. There was still the small pile of food in the corner the boy had brought him. And he could probably scrounge up more water somewhere. Thinking about it, he realized he was actually quite thirsty, but he could deal with that later. Kryss Ace stood in the doorway, at ease but still an intimidating presence. He was hoping to help keep things under control - from either side. They needed time to calm down and regroup before they made any lasting decisions, and Lorna was growing steadily angrier. Feeling it would be out of place to follow her all the way up the stairs, he merely kept position, but made sure to catch her eye and keeping steady contact for a while when she came back. Kryss Skylar was surprised there wasn't more yelling, or at least harsh language at the request, but everything in Lorna's movements spoke of tension. When the girl offered to help, there were several awkward beats of silence hanging in the air. Not wanting Lorna to be too cutting, whether she thought of a job for her or not, she cut in. "I've still got to go and unjam the water pump." she reminded Lorna, "If she could help me with that it'd be nice." ashestoApples "Fine," Lorna said, looking over at Ace and catching his eye. "If anyone needs me, don't hesitate do ask." She brushed past Ace to go back to the back room before she really did lose her temper. Irrational? Maybe a bit. She had a right to be a little bit irrational, she felt. She picked up the book again and continued flipping the pages absently, not really paying attention to them. Her mind was full of too many thoughts to possibly take in more information at the moment. She closed the book a little harshly and stood fixedly at the bookshelf. macxcheese Jane found herself alone with the bottle of water in her hand. She struggled to pull herself up enough to sip from it, soon realizing that wasn’t the correct order of things. A side glance at the medication made her place the bottle between her legs so she could reach for the powdered painkiller. Unfortunately, that made for an odd position as she had to keep her legs straight and in place while extending her good arm across herself and a good way off the bed. Her fingers glanced off the paper, then another go had them pulling it towards her. Victory! She pinch the edge as soon as possible and carefully, carefully slid it off the end ta- A suddenness splash of water made her squeal and in a moment of pure horror, Jane watched the medication slip from her grasp. The powder sprang up into a small cloud beyond the mattress and, with the last of her strength, she sprang for it. The only thing she got in the end was a face full of carpet and a yoga like position off the side of the bed. Her desire to live was suddenly very low, as was her dignity. Rashad shrunk back into the couch and watched Lorna carefully, feeling guiltier by the second. He caught eyes with Jon for a moment with a sad sigh after she left. He couldn’t blame Lorna for being agitated, but he wondered if it was a mix of everything or one specific thing. Jane’s arm, he imagined, had to be the worst of it, but other than that… He sat in silence for a little while, trying to focus on anything else other than the pain, but quite honestly he was getting extremely anxious in doing so. “I’m alright for now, thank you Jon. Could you check on the girls? I’m a bit worried.” He sighed out and let his shoulders relax for a moment. He caught eyes with Ace and quickly looked away. He seemed a little….offput…for lack of a better word. He wondered by he hadn’t been with the rest of the group prior? Malina looked between the two of them confused until Lorna left in a hurry. She put a hand out for a minute but realized it was too late. She turned on her heel to the other girl before glancing from her to the room. “Uh- But shouldn’t-….Someone should stay with Jane, right?” She didn’t think whatsherface would follow her! But still, she was quick to keep going. She didn’t want to look like she was turning work down or anything. “M-maybe Jon downstairs? ….Could… Unless there’s anyone else?” She tried to sound as innocent as possible. She did want to know who all was here! Kryss "Alright," Jon agreed, Anything to help, and also just to have something to do. He mounted the stairs, passing by just in time to hear Malina's suggestion. "I can do it, it's fine," he said reassuringly. He continued on his way, figuring out quickly which room Jane was in. As soon as he opened the door, he let out a shocked, "Jane!" He hurried to the bedside, gently helping her up. It was stupid, he knew, but his face flushed. Where were you allowed to touch girls? Was the stomach alright, or... were you only allowed to touch limbs? Fortunately she was small and light enough that he was able to get her back up with bearable hassle. "Are you alright?" he asked quickly. Kryss He followed Lorna to the back room, again. He paused as they passed through the kitchen, smiling at Alicia's drawings and patting her head gently. "Those look great," he said encouragingly before moving on. Once in the room again, Ace frowned. "Alright, what do you want to do?" he asked. Hopefully getting her to talk it out would make her think everything through, instead of acting purely on instinct. Kryss Skylar turned once that was taken care of, heading down the stairs. "Follow me," she said. She quickly crossed the living room to pop into the kitchen. She quickly doffed her headphones and ipod, handing them over to Conrad. "Mechanical work," she explained briefly, "Guard them with your life." There was about a fifty/fifty chance if she was working on a project that she would wear her music accessories. She then headed back into the living room and through the door to the garage. She picked up her tools from there, and headed out to the back yard, making sure Malina was in tow. "The well's back here," she explained. ashestoApples Lorna released a long breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "I want to let them know that we know, but not yet. I want people to keep an eye on Jane and I want them to recover as quickly as possible. Which means they need to stay in bed or the couch or wherever they are until they're healed. It means we'll have to wait on them hand and foot, but it's a necessary sacrifice. Then, when they start getting better, we talk." She sucked in a breath, having said everything with one breath. "And I want Alicia and Rick to stay away from her," she said, looking over at Ace. "Does that sound reasonable, or am I losing it?" She sounded like she was really unsure- it was an amount of vulnerability that she didn't show often, if ever. ashestoApples Conrad took the headphones and iPod with wide eyes. He nodded sagely and put the headphones around his neck (they felt strange- like he was an imposter. He had to adjust them slightly to fit and he had a feeling they'd never been adjusted since she got them in the first place) and tucked the iPod in his pocket. He double and triple checked to make sure there wasn't a hole in the pocket, which was weird because he didn't have a history with having holes in any of his pockets. He felt Rick's eyes on him but soon moved to help him with the food. They were nearly done, which was good because Alicia, as good as she was being, was starting to look over with a hungry look in her eye.
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Orior
Aug 21, 2015 20:52:09 GMT -6
Post by macxcheese on Aug 21, 2015 20:52:09 GMT -6
Jane had made little progress, succeeding in only pulling herself forward enough to knock her shin on the bed frame. She froze when she heard her name and had no time to see the voice's owner before she was being lifted up! Her panic kicked into high gear. She twisted in the assailants grasp before being plopped on the bed. She scuttled to the farthest corner, looking at Jon with wild eyes.
A few beats later she violently wiped her eyes and looked at an interesting spot on the bed. "Thanks," she whispered. She rubbed her arm, flinching at the pain sprouting from it. "Er, wh-what's up?"
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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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Orior
Aug 26, 2015 23:08:18 GMT -6
Post by candyleptic on Aug 26, 2015 23:08:18 GMT -6
Now that everyone had cleared out a bit Rashad carefully leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He tried to recount everything that happened, but the continual stress the three- four- of them had been through recently had its impact. Oddly enough, all he could focus on what being in a lecture all during a Cognitive Psychology class, explaining the R.E.M. sleep cycle in relation to memory and recall. He really missed school. And sleep...!
Malina bit hard on her cheek, not caring if it bled or not. She knew better than to leave Jane alone, and it was hard to keep that opinion from Gingerbraid and the other girl. She was feeling really beholden though, and didn't want to avoid doing the little work they wanted from her. She didn't want to seem like she only offered to offer. After giving a worried glance back at Jane's direction, she grudgingly followed Skylar.
She caught eyes with Rashad for a moment before her eyes resumed their position on the back of Skylar's head. He seemed relatively okay. Still, it was hard to look at, and she wanted to just take her mind off of everything. She still felt her heart sink, but her face refused to show it.
Outside was cold as balls, and she wished she had time to put another coat on. Thankfully she had half a mind to wear a jacket (she had to sleep in it, anyway,) but pulled up her scarf over her nose, Jane-style! She hated seeing her breath, it made her feel colder.
She had trouble remembering what the Hindi equivalent word for "well" was, but she knew it was important. After Lorna's team had left Walmart, everyone talked about it a lot.
She didn't really want to give out her name or anything, but it was fairly awkward. She wanted to hear the girl speak to know if she was mad (she probably was, Malina would have been too). "What's your name?"
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