Kryss
Ace went out through the back door, looking along the fence. The area near the house was fine. They'd spent most of the days after Christmas repairing and reinforcing it. Walking further along the perimeter, he could spot some holes in the distance that would need fixing. He'd had Conrad go out a couple days beforehand and mark all the sites that needed repairs with bright orange tape. No time to fix them now, but maybe this afternoon he would put together a couple people to go work on it. If they felt comfortable taking a couple people away from the house while Rashad, Malina, and Jane were there. He had tried a couple times, but he just couldn't find Jon a threat.
Thinking about their guests, the corners of his mouth turned down. Every day he could feel Lorna reaching her boiling point. Soon she would make some sort of decision, and bottling up everything probably wasn't going to help her make it a compassionate one. Maybe he would get the chance to speak with her before all the decisions were made. Finishing his preliminary check, he headed back to the house. People would be waking up soon, but as he entered the yard he decided he didn't want to be the one to bother them. He smiled down at Alicia, who had been following him the whole time, his mouth turning upwards now about as much as it had turned downwards before.
"Young lady, I think we're late for practice." He knelt on the ground in front of her, holding one arm up parallel to the ground, his forearm facing her.
Kryss
Skylar sat on her bed, staring blankly out the window at the bright white clouds blanketing the sky. They weren't snow clouds. Lorna had taught her the difference in October. She knew snow clouds hung lower, but not as low as rain clouds, and they were the light grey of the watered silk shawl her mother had worn to her fashion shows and Skylar's eighteenth birthday party. She occupied herself trying to think of the name of the high, painfully white clouds as she stared out at them, leaving dots in her eyes. Anything to avoid really thinking.
She was so glad everyone was used to her waking up early. She'd been up for three hours. She'd been waking up early ever since They got here. Ever since She got here. She still hadn't had the chance to get her feelings sorted out. Every moment she was with Jane, she was overwhelmed with the urge to help her, with a brimming sense of hurt bursting at the edges. Whenever she wasn't with Jane, she was dull and angry and hollowed out, unsure of if she ever wanted to see her again. When she had been lucid, Jane seemed to be trying to be nice, but there hadn't been enough interaction to really know where things stood. So for now, Skylar sat, trying to remember the names of clouds, hoping that somehow breakfast would be delayed.
Malina stretched her arms over her head, hearing a pop from somewhere. Seeing Jon, she raised a brow and followed him, asking if he needed help, but it looked like he was just about finished, anyway. She had been bumping into him a lot, and while most of the time it ended up fairly awkward, she was glad he was here too.
“Have you seen their cat?” she asked, trying to start a conversation. “They have one.”
She looked back to her brother, who wasn’t really doing anything but feeling sorry for himself. She felt bad for him, but didn’t want to say anything. “He’s really fluffy I think.” She added for some reason.
@holly-alice
Jane leaned against the bathroom door, taking a minute to catch her breath. She hadn’t gone that fast in days. After pushing her way to the toilet, she plopped down and just sat. She noticed a small needlepoint hanging across from her and wondered if that had been there before. Then she reminded herself that no one had the time to do needlepoint, so of course it did.
It took her at least five minutes to finish her business. Part of it was because she had frozen in front of the mirror, staring at the new her. Then she washed her hand and stumbled towards the door.
The journey back to her bedroom seemed so long, and the door handle was heavy in her hand when she reached it. She turned and pushed with her whole body, but stopped when she realized it was the wrong room. She mumbled a quick apology to Skylar before nervously closing the door, which ended up slamming from the pull of her speedy reversal. Dazed and embarrassed, she realized her room was next door. She thumped her head against the wood before reaching for the handle, almost falling back into the room.
ashestoApples
Lorna paced when she made it to the backroom. Everything added up to her- it made perfect sense what her decision had to be, and her anger made it so she was unable to see any other alternative and made her confused as to why it took so long to make a decision. She had hurt people, distracted people, dwindling food supplies, an immune man, and a child to think about. Lorna turned on her heel and walked toward the kitchen, seeing Alicia's crayons and pictures on the table. In the nearby archway she could barely see Malina, and she knew her brother was close by on the couch.
She sighed, seemingly releasing some of the anger that had been held fast in her belly for so long, making her heart feel constricted. Amending her decision, she looked around, finding Ace nowhere. Rick was still asleep, she was sure. She would consult them later. Peering around quickly, she decided upon merely refilling her water bottle before retreating into the backroom again, facing her makeshift study next to the bookshelves. It was scattered around, some papers were even on the floor. Books were open, overlapping each other, files stuck out between pages of medical journals, even a couple of her past journals were in the mix. All of it cataloging a new life- a different, more terrifying life- or informing her of how to act next. Words on a page always seemed clearer and easier to understand than the spoken word to her- and it was here that she made many important decisions when she returned with only two and housed more than that. It looked like whoever occupied the chair normally had been hunched over it for a lifetime- and in a way, Lorna supposed, she had.
ashestoApples
Conrad glanced up above at the wisps high above him in the sky before clumping down in the grass next to the fence. He wiped a hand across his brow, a few droplets flew into the grass by his feet. There was still so much to do- even though there were more people, and more people to work, it felt like it had been harder- there had been more work. It was a learning experience for him. The more people there were, the more work had to be done, and it was never-ending. More people didn't mean less work for everyone if everyone helped, it meant more work all around. He remained sitting for a couple minutes before picking himself up and stretching, reaching up as if he could catch one of the wispy clouds in the distance.
His watch bragged that it was nearing ten and out of habit he thought of checking to see if Skylar was awake. Deciding this was a better plan than running around a fence he couldn't fix much, he set off to do so, passing Ace and Alicia practicing near the door, the two whose names he couldn't quite remember Marina and Ahmed maybe? No, Ahmed was a family name, he was getting things mixed up. Deciding it definitely started with an R but sounded a little like Ahmed, he made it to Skylar's door, having passed Jane's room without a glance.
He knew better than to disturb her and it didn't look like she was in there anyway. He went to knock on the door when he realized he heard a voice that was NOT Skylar come from her room. Despite not needing to, he dashed into the bathroom, scared about intruding on such a scene.
Alicia took her best fighting stance (which still didn't look threatening, despite her face being screwed up in her best attempt at a 'fight me i dare you' look) and
pretty clumsily swung at Ace, knowing she couldn't hurt him if she tried. He was the invincible to her- he couldn't be hurt, he could only be strong. He "hit" her quickly but very gently and blocked her attempts quickly- she was used to it, but still felt a little discouraged when he pat her on the head. She felt like she'd never learn everything.
Kryss
Jon smiled at Malina as she approached. Given her initial frosty demeanor, she had warmed up surprisingly quickly to him, although he suspected it had more to do with her discomfort with the people who owned the house than a special liking towards him. And sometimes it seemed she felt just as awkward as he did when trying to socialize. "I have," he answered her question.
"He's very friendly. He keeps trying to steal my food, though." He wasn't against sharing a bit with the small cat. He liked helping animals. They were easier than humans, at least. Still, the last time he'd let the cat near his plate, it had eaten more than a quarter of his food before he had managed to pick him up and carry him away. Holding the buckets awkwardly at his side, Jon looked around.
"You haven't seen Lorna around, have you?" he asked. He made sure to keep his voice down. He didn't want to wake Rashad. He saw Conrad go by, but the boy was gone before he could ask him any questions.
Kryss
When they were done practicing, Ace picked Alicia up, smiling again. He complimented her, trying to let her know how well she was doing. Her movements were clumsy and uncoordinated still, but she was also four years old. The fact that she could remember the blocks and hits was impressive to him. Walking inside, he set her on the ground. Rick still wasn't in the kitchen, so it may be a fend-for-yourself breakfast day. He'd wait a little longer for that, though. Walking out into the next room, he noticed Lorna in the back room, wearing a worrisome expression. He walked in, standing by the door. He didn't say anything, knowing his presence there would speak enough.
Kryss
Skylar froze, sitting stiffly when Jane burst into her room. She held still as the girl apologized and left. Only then did she let herself relax, sinking back down a bit. Should she have said something? The entire encounter had been so sudden, and now she felt all worked up. Figuring that even if Jane hadn't meant to visit her, the jig was up, she got up and left her room, walking to the balcony. She could see Malina, Jon, and Rashad downstairs, although the latter...est seemed to be asleep still. Where was everyone else, though?
“I’m waiting for her,” Malina said distantly. She wouldn’t admit it but late last night she couldn’t sleep, so she snuck into Jane’s room for a while. She seemed like she was doing a little better but…
“Hey,” she said softly, changing the subject, “Uh….about ruining your life, I’m kinda…” she was about to apologize, but was surprised when she was cut off.
“Have either of you talked to Jane?” Rashad asked, carefully sitting up. He was careful not to push his luck with the gauze around his leg. Plus he uh, with the bullet angle pants were a little difficult, so under his blanket he was down to his boxers, and he didn’t care to freely show them here and there. Even if they were the cool space ones.
@holly-alice
Jane flopped down on her bed, only crawling under the covers when a chill crept under her skin. She laid flat on her back, staring at the ceiling for maybe ten minutes. Snippets of thought passed through her mind, though nothing too heavy. And then very suddenly she realized she was bored. The idea was actually funny to her. Here she was, in the apocalypse, and she was bored. Not just the apocalypse, the fucking zombie apocalypse. A small bubble of giggles fought its way out of her. Then she was outright laughing. Maybe it was the drugs, or the fact that everyone was angry at her except the person she shot and Malina, who she’d been lying to (kind of), but her situation seemed hilarious to her.
ashestoApples
Lorna felt his presence and she turned away from her desk, looking almost wild. She never took great care of herself, and the anger and stress was clearly getting to her.
"I want Jane gone," she said quietly. "The others... can stay. But she needs to leave. Before I lose it." Lorna raked a hand through her hair and turned back to her desk. It made
her feel like she had
already lost it.
ashestoApples
Conrad thought he heard someone moving around outside the bathroom and he peeked out slowly. A part of him knew he didn't HAVE to sneak out of a bathroom- everyone would assume he had a reason for being there- but he always felt like Skylar could see through him, and he thought it was possible it could be her. And it was.
"Um, hey," Conrad said lamely, coming up behind her. "I was just coming to see if you were up." His voice was quiet- probably because he hadn't spoken yet that morning and it was still a little off.
ashestoApples
Alicia got her footing on the ground and watched Ace walk away. Something told her- she didn't know what- that he might not want her to follow there, and he was so close she figured if she colored some more it wouldn't be breaking the rules. She had to remain in sight of him if she could- those were the rules- and if he glanced around he could see her. So she climbed up on the chair and picked a bright red crayon to color in the Scarlet Witch's hair. She added deep, sinking eyebrows on her tiny face and picked up black to add normal eyebrows on Ace's face, but the doodle of Ace was looking down at Alicia, who was almost a speck next to him.
Kryss
Jon found himself with a small smile. As rough and tumble as Malina was, he knew what she was trying to say. Honestly he hadn't really expected her to apologize at any point. She wasn't much a one for that kind of thing. And he knew she had done it because her brother had been dying. If his brother had been the one shot and laying in the back seat - he stopped himself there, fortunately interrupted by Rashad.
"I haven't." he said. "I've delivered her medicine a few times, but she was always too groggy to talk."
Ace lowered his shoulders a bit, bracing himself. He knew this would be a difficult talk. But it needed to be done. He took a half step forward, saying, "Lorna... I don't know if that's the best plan."
Kryss
Skylar looked behind her as someone - she instantly recognized the voice as Conrad - came up behind her.
"Hey," she said, smiling. "What've you been up to, you hard little worker?"
Malina looked back at Jon before nodding at Rashad. “I’m on it.” She swiftly made her way up the stairs and ended up fairly close to the teenagers up top. She tried not to stare but couldn’t help but to raise a worried eyebrow. Were they flirting? Did people even do that now a days? She almost stopped right before Jane’s room because she heard- laughing? Was everything okay? She worriedly opened the door quickly, bent to kick some ass if she had to, but her shoulders fell at Jane. Mindfully closing the door behind her slowly, she looked her over. “Are you okay?”
Rashad went back to looking at the ceiling, eyelids still heavy. “How have you been, Jon?” he asked calmly, but before the kid could answer Rashad started again, his voice slowly filling with more worry as he went; “D-did you get a change to gauge… Do you – do you think maybe Miss Lorna is considering…” He looked at Jon hoping he’d get the gist of what he was asking. “Do you think they’re going to let us….” His tongue ran across the back of his top teeth while he waited Jon to fill in the blanks, careful of what to say exactly.
ashestoApples
Lorna: "And why not?" she asked. She was still quiet, but her voice was distinct and had concentrated fury behind it.
"Hasn't she done enough? And if Rashad really IS lying to us, then she probably shot him! What if it's Alicia next?" Her voice rose a little bit, but she was sure to keep it down enough so that their conversation was unheard by those outside the room.
ashestoApples
Conrad's face grew just slightly hot. "Oh you know. Perimeters. Errands. The us'." Did he really just shorten 'usual' to 'us''? Oh my god.
ashestoApples
Alicia was only able to hear one very indistinct voice very quietly due to the kitchen being open to the backroom. Even if she had heard her fully (and she didn't), she wouldn't have understood anyway. She continued coloring.