Just A Kid

[ValidEmotions]

[[Thanks, Narath ^^]]

 

Kate was guided to stand behind Mike, protective tendencies kicking into gear when the sight of fighting creatures registered in both of their minds. That and the fact that some of these people appeared to have weapons. And then one of them was stumbling into the street, bumping into Mike at mostly an angle. "Whoa! Easy there, sea-legs!" he exclaimed, tone more light than sharp or condescending. His rough, feminine hands gripped onto the boy's shoulders firmly, a subtle indication to the stranger not to pull anything funny or else he might be in for a world of hurt. By sound, Mike would be identified by strangers as a young woman. Add appearance and behavior, then you've got confused people on your hands. At least, confused until they caught on to what was happening.

 

Peering around her brother's side, Kate examined what she could of the boy that suddenly crossed their paths. He was taller than Mike and more heavily equipped. Mike had a handgun but that was about it; her brother preferred using his hands as he felt that guns or knives were too sinister as weapons. However, there was a pocket knife kept in his back pocket for basic usage as a survival tool. When Kate decided to study the boy's face, she lingered at his pretty blue eyes. By nature, she wasn't attracted to anyone and she wasn't attracted to him but, seeing blue eyes after constantly seeing brown was certainly a nice change. Then her eyes drifted towards the creature near his side.

 

A startled, and faintly frightened, sound escaped her lips as Kate stumbled backwards and further away from the mutated coyote. "M-M-Mike! He has a creature!" She didn't know if she should point at the large beast or keep her hands close to her chest, so she kept her arms hovered in between both actions.

 

Mike glanced over, hands still holding the boy's shoulders, and frowned. "Just stay there Kate...." Now he was on edge. People with animals sometimes proved to be untrustworthy in their experience and, as such, this stranger was under Mike's hard scrutiny until the boy proved to be harmless enough. Or until he proved to be a definite threat. As it was at this moment, it was a bit of a stand still. Mike would have laughed at the comically dramatic appearance with the fighting creatures and gathered people if he weren't so on edge and trying to make sure Kate wouldn't get harmed.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Narvix

[Thaelasan]

(( Well you see my guy isn't really necessary til combat starts. :3 ))

[Narath]

"I-I'm sorry miss." Ian apologized, still slightly stunned from the fall, as he felt her hands grip him. "I didn't see you there. I was just trying to skirt my way around the fighting creatures when I slipped on some loose stone."

Ian removed himself from the young woman's grip carefully and proceeded to dust himself off. That was when the younger girl that he thought looked about his age began to panic at the sight of Argus.

"Hey, there's no need to worry about Argus here." Ian said kindly to her, reaching down to place a firm hand on Argus' back. "He's a friend of mine. Here, you can pet him even if you want. He really likes getting scratched behind the ear a lot."

To try and show that he was friendly too, Ian held out his other hand towards her in a friendly motion.

[ValidEmotions]

[[Fighting mutant animals don't count as combat? x3]]

 

Miss. The boy had called Mike 'miss.' Now, sometimes this offended the older boy but, he couldn't blame the kid today. It was highly likely that the kid hadn't realized what Name Kate had exclaimed or didn't want to assume based off of clothing. Either way, it would be beneficial to correct this boy when the time was next appropriate. "Well, be more careful next time...." His mood would be brighter if it weren't for the coyote.

 

At the stranger's insistence that Argus was friendly, inviting her to pet the large canine, Kate hesitated further and glanced at her brother. As his hands were empty now, he had taken to folding his arms across his chest. She looked back over at the boy and his animal, taking a tentative step forward and slowly reaching a shaky hand out. When she was close enough, her fingertip brushed the top of Argus' ear before she quickly pulled it away in case he might change his mind and bite her. When the coyote didn't seem to make any change of heart, she allowed her body to release a bit of its tension. "He's kind of creepy looking...." She was focusing on its plethora of eyes, making her think of spiders and she was always creeped out by those.

 

This boy didn't seem hostile but, with experience came suspicion about friendly people. Regardless, should they respond with hostility or even coldness? Kate looked to Mike again, wondering what her brother's thoughts were. And then....

 

"Call me Mike. Ignore the boobs and curves because I'm a guy. I just wasn't old enough to ditch this body for another one before things went crazy." There was his smile again, a good humor in his eyes as he titled his head slightly and idly rubbed his scalp with his fingers. "She's Kate, kid sister of the year."

 

Suddenly put on the spot, Kate smiled nervously and gave a tiny wave in greeting, mentally yelling at Mike for not letting her introduce herself when she was ready.

Edited April 15, 2014 by Narvix

[Narath]

Argus stood still as Kate reached out towards him, tongue ganging out of his mousth in a friendly manner like any other dog. When she retracted her hand though, he let out a sad whine and tiltted his head to look at her with pleading eyes. Ian laughed lightly and patted his side at this, and then laughed again when Argus blinked each eye individually in response to her calling him creepy.

"Oh. All right. I'll try keep that in mind." Ian replied to Mike. "Sorry about the confusion."

He'd never met a person that had that sort of mindset before. The closest thing was probably a les in his high school that was a tomboy.

"Anyways, I'm Ian, and this is my friend Argus." Ian said, holding his hand out for them to shake. "We live just a couple houses down from here. If you'd like, you can stop by and rest for a while. You kinda look like you've been on the road for a while."

[ValidEmotions]

Kate suppressed a shiver as Argus blinked each of his several eyes individually. Hearing the creature whine was a strange thing for sure and she hesitated further. "Why'd you name him Argus? Does it mean something?" she asked, looking up at the taller survivor.

 

At the mention of getting rest, Mike's shoulders slumped and a look of pleasure crossed his features. "Sweetie, if you could spare us that, then I can be your intimate servant." He was playing of course, a hint of flirtatious personality poking through in light of how tired his legs were from traveling so long.

 

Beside him, his sister rolled her eyes, reflexively taking Ian's hand to shake. "Ignore him. He's only joking." Gripping Ian's hand, the boy would notice that she didn't seem to have much strength in her hand and that it felt a bit bonyier than it probably should. However, Kate pulled her hand back shortly thereafter, leaving Ian with the possibility of second guessing or doubting what he might think.

 

"Kitty-Kat, you know that my jokes have a hint of truth of to them." Mike smirked, winking at Ian. "'Sides, you're kinda cute for a blonde..." Now it was difficult to tell if he was flirting as a joke or for the sake of flirting.

 

Nevertheless, Kate shook her head and sighed. "I'm sorry about him. It's probably best if we found our own place to stay...." Honestly, she hoped Ian was still open to them resting at his shelter. She was tired, more easily winded than Mike. Sometimes, though, she wondered if she were the older sibling because of his humorous tendencies.

 

"Well, regardless of what's going on, you don't need to apologize for a little mistake. It happens a lot really. Most don't expect my type of person. Who could blame them?" Mike almost went on with quoting 'it's just not natural!' But he stopped himself, pushing the images of self righteous nuts or religious extremists from his mind.

[Narath]

"It's Latin for silver, his fur color." Ian explained, turning a bit red. "I've always been a bit of an ancient Roman and Greek nut. Well, just a nerdy kind of guy in general actually."

Damn it, why did he always have to get flustered? Also, why couldn't he just have been a 'normal' cool guy? This sort of thing always happened to him, especially when acting like a geek around girls.

"I, um.. I... You... What?" He babbled when Mike spoke up.

He was just getting worse.

Kate's grip on his hand was able to rescue him from his short circuiting brain though, and he managed to pull of a weak smile as he shook it back. As their hands clasped together though, Ian's smile turned to a look of fret as he realized that she probably hadn't had very much food recently either. Now that all the panic about him falling into them, and their concerns about Argus had gone, he was able to take in how she looked better. He wasn't going to lie, Kate was pretty cute, but she looked pretty rough. Her features that weren't hidden by clothes were drawn taught against her bones, and it actually looked like her hands were a bit scarred; one or two cuts seemed fairly recent. Ian was about to voice his concern, but Mike's comment inturrupted his thoughts.

"What's wrong with blondes?" He asked sheepishly, a hand reaching tentatively up to his hair.

"You-you don't have to find your own place." Ian said, maybe a little too quickly. "I... I mean, our home does have plenty of open space. Most of the rooms are just filled with little projects of mine, but I can move them out of the way. Because there's safety in numbers right? We could maybe work together and help each other out. Help find food and stuff. Also, it's kinda hard to make a new home around here. You'd have to make repairs, make sure the place is secure from mutants, and the upkeep is kinda hard too.

"Also, I kinda think Argus has been wanting some more friends lately."

The last bit about Argus was kind of a lie. Argus was fine with other people, but he never seeked them out. It was Ian who wanted the company.

Edited April 16, 2014 by Narath

[ValidEmotions]

Mike started to laugh, muffling it behind his hand. "Relax kid, we won't bite your head off. Though, if you try anything funny...." His features took on a dark atmosphere, brown eyes fixing the younger boy with a hard gaze. And then, as quickly as it had appeared, the expression was gone and he was smiling brightly again. "You'll just have to get used to my type of humor. I joke a lot of the time so don't always take things so seriously, alright? You'll know for sure when I'm not joking about one thing or another." Poor kid. All he had wanted to do was get away from these brawling creatures, only to end up in an even more uncomfortable situation it seemed.

 

Kate recognized Ian's looks of concern and worry as soon as they had crossed his face when they shook hands. Just as she didn't like her brother fretting over her, she didn't like others doing it too. Setting a level look in her eyes, she put out the air that she was just fine, that she didn't need any special attention. "If it won't prove any sort of inconvenience, we'll accept your offer." No! Why would Mike say that? Kate wanted to hiss at her brother; she didn't need a second person to hide from. As it was, it was difficult to keep things out of sight from her watchful brother. Now she had to worry about a stranger possibly seeing through her?

 

"Of course, we'll only stay as long as needed until we have our own place set up." Oh good. Kate almost released a sigh of relief, content with the arrangement only being temporary. Then Mike's arm was draped around her shoulders, bearing down just a fraction heavier than it ought to. He was smiling but the way he touched her far shoulder indicated that he knew of her recent secrets and would want to talk later. Lovely.

 

"I-I'm okay with that idea...." Kate stated, calmly disengaging herself from Mike's partial embrace. "Argus is a suitable name then, based on what you said about his fur. I didn't get to learn much about Rome or Greece but I liked the lessons well enough. I can't remember his name but the god of fire and the forge is my favorite. Him and Mercury, the gods' messenger."

[Narath]

"Oh. Okay. Sorry then." Ian said. "I used to get that comment a lot before... This happened. I've just had a past that makes it hard to joke sometimes.

"Anyways, follow us. You're welcome to stay as long as you'd like. It's hard to find good company these days, and you seem like very nice people. And if you're dead set on finding your own place, I'll help you out with that too. My family was full of handymen so I've been able to pick up a few tricks."

With that, Ian turned to lead them towards his home just a few blocks away, Argus trotting alongside Kate as they went. The coyote had seemed to take a liking to her.

"I only really know the Greek names for their gods. Hephestus was the god of the forge, also a cripple because I think it was Hera of Zeus threw him from Olympus when he was born. I think it was... Ah, what was the Greek version of the messenger god's name?"

Ian began to start snapping his fingers with one hand while drumming on his leg with the other, his face in an intense look of consentration.

"Hermes! That's it! There was also a messenger goddess by the name of Iris, also goddess of rainbows I think."

Edited April 16, 2014 by Narath

[ValidEmotions]

Hephaestus, that was the name. Kate smiled faintly, nodding in a bit of gratitude for reminding her. As the siblings were led away from the group of individuals and two creatures, Kate noticed that Argus was following alongside her. When it blinked, she suppressed another shudder, holding her arms closer to her body. While the coyote didn't seem threatening, its eyes just thoroughly disturbed her. It was likely to give her some nightmare or two.

 

Ahead, Mike had his hands clasped lightly behind his head, travel bag gently shifting on his back as they walked. His shoulders were weary from carrying the weight for hours on end but, he wasn't about to complain any moment soon. Several times, his kid sister would offer or insist on carrying the bag but he wouldn't let her from fear of her getting hurt or strained. She was fragile to him and she clearly disliked being seen as such.

 

"That's a kind offer but I figure we can work out details or ideas later. Do you have a pit I could use for cooking? We've some recently caught rabbit meat and we should get it cooked before it goes bad. Plus dinner is a sound idea. Are you hungry?" Mike asked Ian, also sending a glance back towards his sister.

 

"I'm not hungry yet. I'll eat when I am so don't worry about me," came Kate's response. It was always her response and this made Mike frown inwardly. "Ian, you do know a bit about the Gods and Goddesses it seems. Who are your favorite two and what stories do you like best?" Kate was changing the subject away from food, preferring to favor the safe topic of mythology.

[Narath]

"I have a small propane stove in working condition." Ian answered. "Right now, I have a few projects running to maybe get the house's old oven working. I salvaged the fuel needed, but it's electricity that is the problem. For that I'll need to get a windmill or something hooked up to the generator my grandpa restored that will charge some old farm batteries.

"Anyways, me and Argus would appreciate the food if you could spare some. We've had no luck hunting lately."

As soon as food was mentioned, Argus' ears perked up, and he quickly moved to Mike's side, brushing his body against her affectionately.

As they arrived at the house, Ian opened the door and motioned for them to move inside.

"Ladies first." He said with a cheesy grin. "Oh wait. Sorry Mike. I forgot. I didn't mean anything by it.

"So, you're interested in mythology too?" Ian asked Kate to change the subject. "I quite liked Hephestus myself, since I like tinkering too. I'd have to say my other favorite is Hestia, goddess of the hearth. After all, home is a very important place. And my favorite story... Persius. It's the only one where the hero is truly successful."

[ValidEmotions]

Mike thought a moment. He could work with a propane stove. It might take him a moment to figure out its favored tricks but he could certainly cook with it. "Alright, that'll do." Then Argus was brushing against his leg and the young man looked down at it, unaccustomed to the affectionate action. When Ian exposed his blunder, Mike nudged his arm. "Kiddo, you could have kept silent. I would have figured you to be addressing my sis alone," Mike responded, smirking. He laughed shortly after, entering once Kate had gone into the building. "Seems homey enough. I mean, given what life's handed out, it could be worse. You know?"

 

Kate moved towards the side, hesitant about sitting down anywhere or touching anything lest she ruin something Ian had been working hard on. "I liked what I learned about mythology. I didn't learn too many of the Greek or Roman stories before things went downhill. I think we were reading about Troy or the Odyssey...." She trailed off. It was warm and she wanted to remove her coat but, if she did that, Ian might notice her shoulders more and she didn't want that. Instead, she fiddled with the end of her hair, tied back like always.

 

Unlike his sister, Mike was more at ease, relishing in the relief of being out of the blistering sun. When he spotted the stove, he set the bag down and dug through it to pull a wrapped up bundle out. "I'll go ahead and start cooking. You don't happen to have any salt or pepper. Do you?" he asked, moving to the stove and setting the bundle down on top while figured out how to turn it on. When he solved that riddle, he started unraveling the fresh meat and glanced over at his sister. "Mind bringing over that metal plate we found?"

 

Kate strode over to their bag and shifted some things around before she managed to retrieve a circular (and slightly dented) sheet of metal. They had found it some days ago and thoroughly cleaned it as best they could before they began to use it for the purpose of food. It had been Mike's idea when Kate had discovered it. She passed it over to her brother who took hold of it and her hand. "Eat this time. Please?" A whisper too soft for Ian to overhear unless he were close enough. "At least a little." Kate didn't respond outwardly, only stepping away when Mike finally released her hand.

[Narath]

Ian blushed as Mike pointed out the easier way he could have avoided his blunder, and slapped himself mentally for it.

"I've done what I could." He replied as he shut the door and slid a board across it. "Supplies are somewhat sparce these days. Another reason it would be difficult to set up a new home.

"The stories written by Homer right?" Ian asked as he moved.to stand next to Kate. "I liked those too, but not the best endings. The movie 'Troy' was great though."

While Ian talked with Kate, Argus still had food on his mind, taking a seat across the small stove from Mike and watching his work intently. When he asked Ian for spices, the coyote ran off and returned dragging a small wooden box with dried herbs and such, though there was not much left in any of the bottles.

"So uh..." Ian began, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kate, while your si-brother cooks, would you like a tour? We could figure out a room for you two to stay in, and I could set up some basic hammocks for you to rest on."

 

((Sorry that I took a while to reply, I had a field trip to a play.))

Edited April 16, 2014 by Narath

[ValidEmotions]

[[That's alright ]]

 

Hammocks... Those had always been nice to nap in, resting under in the cool shade castes by sturdy trees while leaves rustled from the spring breeze. The thought made Kate miss home, made her miss the quiet days when she would just read books and fall asleep in the hammock they had hung in their yard. She smiled softly at the memory and nodded once. "Okay. Thank you." Zipping up the travel bag they owned, she glanced at her brother and Argus briefly when the large canine brought a wooden box to him. "I'll fill you in on what you missed so Ian doesn't have to repeat himself." Mike motioned his hand in a signal that he had heard, attention already mostly focused on cooking. Turning back to Ian, Kate idly rubbed her hand. "After you?"

 

"I haven't seen the film, Troy, yet. We were starting to watch the Odyssey though... I think. I can't remember. I was twelve then and didn't always pay attention in class; I liked to read over doing math or history." Kate shrug her shoulders, wincing as a pinched nerve made itself known. Rubbing the offended area, she let her hand fall away a moment later.

 

Mike, meanwhile, paused when Argus appeared with a crate of spices before crouching down to take it from him. "Um... Thanks?" He was about eye level with the creature, wondering if he should pet the beast as a form of reward. Those eyes were a bit creepy but he figured! seeing them over a period of time would grow to be natural somehow. Shaking his head, he rose to his full height and opened the box, grabbing out the salt and pepper containers to sprinkle a little over the chunks of raw meat.

 

Over the three years, he had grown more accustomed to cooking, only having started to learn when he was sixteen from his dad and sometimes his mom. Additionally, his preparation skills had grown to be refined; the meat no longer looked as if it had been hacked to pieces right off the bone and slices were cut thin enough for the best results in cooking. Mike had also learned how to cut and cook in different manners for different results and varying tastes. Of course, all this was aided by the use of whatever seasonings he could get a hold of. He would have to go searching for more though.

 

[[i won't go into boring filler about Mike's cooking unless you'd like me to or I need to flesh out my next post.]]

[Narath]

((All cooking processes would probably be lost on me. I don't know much about it.

Argus will probably help him out though.))

 

"I was never a big fan of history either, but grade six mythology was my favorite. Ancient Japan and the Aztecs in grade eight was pretty good too. But yea, for the most part I loved to read." Ian said as he guided her through the lower floor which consigned of a few rooms housing his hand crank generator and windmill generator projects. "I'd actually get in a lot of trouble in elementary because I read instead of listening to the class. You'd think that schools would promote reading."

[ValidEmotions]

[[i'll leave his cooking details alone then x3]]

 

Kate listened as she looked around each room they entered, pausing at his projects and bending over one she figured to be the windmill generator Ian had mentioned earlier. She didn't touch anything though, but she wanted to. She want to lift up covers, open latches, and examine what was hidden inside. She had a curious nature, especially with metallic objects as they were often shiny things. Instead, she kept her hands together and near her chin, a finger pinched between her teeth lest she ruin something.

 

When she realized that Ian, too, was more of a reader, she smiled. "I didn't think many people enjoyed reading anymore. The kids I went to school with hardly bothered to pick up a book and that was only for the few book reports we had to complete." She shook her head, biting her fingertip again as she looked elsewhere once more. "How long have you and Argus been here?" she asked, shifting her hands to pick at her coat sleeve. She was too warm beyond comfort and it would be nice to have the coat off, her shirt sleeves rolled up, but she dare not. Not in front of Ian at least.

 

But lighting wasn't perfect in this building, supplied only by what trickled through the windows. Would he notice her frail features? Gosh, she was uncomfortable. Maybe she should risk removing her coat; Ian was likely to doubt the lighting or not even notice anything. Choosing comfort, Kate finally slipped her coat off over her head and held on to it, draping it over her arm. Beneath the coat was a dull colored long sleeve shirt with a circular collar, the color not so faded as most of her clothes.

 

"Could you explain some more about your projects?" If she gave Ian something else to focus on, he was probably less likely to take notice of the small bumps at her shoulders. She was thankful that her hair hid what might be noticed of her spine.

 

[[Yes, I am highlighting Kate's consequences of her disorder but mostly as a way to familiarize myself with how it would look for/affect her. I've had characters with a mental or physical disabilities but never a physical one like this.]]

[Narath]

"Yea, I liked reading a lot, but I also really liked to play games a lot," Ian said. "As well as build things, draw, write, and I even did cosplay. So you could say that I varied so much that I never really fit in with others.

"Me and Argus have been living here a few months now. I think. I'm not exactly sure since I don't have a calender. That and I'll sometimes work all night. And what about you and Mike? How long have you been on the road?"

After he asked his question, Ian turned from his projects to face Kate, in time to see her draping her coat over her arm. Despite the dim light, he could tell that she looked a bit frail and thin, but earlier she seemed to feel uncomfortable when he noticed her hands, so he kept quietly concerned. He had to keep in mind to talk to Mike about it later.

"Well, um, this piece of machinery here is a generator that is hooked up to a shaft that is rotated by a windmill, and then charges those old bulky batteries in the corner." Ian answered. "My grandfather already restored everything, but I need to finish the windmill on the roof and find or create the fittings for the shaft before it can start working."

 

((I know what you mean. In a different RP I've created a rather unique character, and I can't wait till it starts. It's going to be strange RPing him though.))

[ValidEmotions]

"I didn't fit in anywhere either...," Kate murmured, eyes briefly turning to Ian as he spoke before finding their surroundings again. At his question, she paused to think on the answer. "I think we've traveled for a couple years? On and off though. When mom and dad became casualties of the virus, we stayed in our hometown for as long as we could before we had to move on. Since then, we've stayed in various areas, either inhabited by others or completely abandoned, until we needed to move again. We just spent the past handful of weeks traveling to find another suitable living place." She shrugged, unaware of Ian's notice.

 

When he began explaining the equipment more, she followed along, looking at each specified piece. "Could I help? Th-That is, if you needed any help? I collect a lot of metallic stuff 'cause they're often shiny and I like shiny things." Did that make her sound like a bird or squirrel to him? She hoped not. Oh stupid, stupid, stupid! Now she probably looked like a bird-brained girl to him! She went back to biting her fingertip, shirt sleeve partially grasped by the rest of her fingers against her palm to keep it from slipping downward and possibly revealing her wrists.

 

The smell of food was beginning to penetrate the air, carrying on the stale air towards them. "Mike's probably just about finished cooking. Has it been half an hour already? He knows how to make a good meal in such a short amount of time. He's told me it's based on just how thick someone makes their slices. So, to save time, he tends to make his slices a little thinner so they cook faster." She didn't know what the smell of food would invoke for Ian but, for her, the scent tended to make her stomach churn anxiously. It made her feel sick and so the idea of eating was constantly a repulsive one.

 

[[Weee for taking over this thread! x3]]

Edited April 17, 2014 by Narvix

[Narath]

((Yep. I hate it when people leave these stories for no reason. Oh well, now we have an awesome 1x1 going.))

 

"Yea, I could use some help with a few things." Ian said eagerly. "It's a bit tricky to do some jobs by one's self. Maybe I could even teach you a few things, though I never really learned much about mechanics. To be honest, I've had to just make some things up as I go. A few of your items could maybe be useful, but I don't want to take anything from you that you'd want to keep. I mean, I like to collect things too. I still have all my flattened pennies from before all this happened, and I was even able to find more afterwards. That and rocks. I often collect strange ones I find lying around."

Ian's speech was inturrupted however when the smell of food cooking wafted to his nose. It smelled so good, much better than what an ameture cook like him could make.

"That sure smells good." Ian said, getting eager to eat. "Even if he didn't know how to cook, me and Argus would still probably love it. Pretty much anything is better than vacuum sealed beaf jerky. Come on, let's go."

As they walked towards the kitchen, Ian racked his brain, trying to think of something to talk about. He had lived with only Argus for so long, that he had missed human contact, that he just wanted to talk. One could only go so long without having an actual conversation.

"So, uh, you said you didn't really fit in like me?" Ian asked, trying to find something in common. "Maybe later, we could... talk more about our old lives? You know, remember the good old times and all that, or maybe find some things we have in common. Sound like fun to you?"

[ValidEmotions]

Mike was turning off the stove when the pair returned to the main room, his head slightly bent down in focus. Kate tried her best to ignore the sick feeling that rolled in her stomach. Ian was saying something else again and she turned her brown eyes on his blue. They were pretty for something so simple a color but she couldn't get herself to find any further attraction for them. That made her start to think that, if what Ian said about how long it had been for Argus to make friends was true, then Ian hadn't really been in touch with anyone either for awhile. Would he want to grow as strong of an attachment as he could to the first like-able people who came to stay awhile? Oh, she hoped that wasn't to be the case. She had seen shows where the girl turned down the guy and he had been so hurt about it, or vise versa. Relationships were iffy things to Kate and she wanted as little to do with them as possible.

 

"The good old times... Sure..." Her words were slow, easy to mistake for reminiscing rather than hesitating.

 

At this time, Mike was retrieving two makeshift plates and bent silverware from their bag. "We've only two plates really but you can use one and I can eat off of the serving dish. I'll wrap the extra up before I start eating anyways," he stated, not actually giving Ian a chance to turn the offer down as he placed one of the plates in the younger boy's lap with a portion of the meal and one of the forks; the other dish he gave to Kate with a lingering look, a hint of pleading set deep in his dark eyes. "I hope you enjoy it. I haven't really cooked for anyone but Kate and I in awhile." Setting the serving dish out of Argus' reach but within his, Mike turned back to the bag long enough to grab out another set of wrapping paper, this bit clean as you just couldn't cross contaminate items used for raw food with the usage for cooked food. It was practiced ease, wrapping the extra meat securely and putting it away in the bag for later meals. When that was done, he finally situated himself across from Kate and Ian.

 

Her brother was already eating, hungry from lack of the opportunity to make a meal for the past handful of hours. Kate, however, wasn't eager, taking her time to pick the meat into pieces before even contemplating putting one of them into her mouth. Instead, she pushed the endeavor away, turning her attention to Ian to appear as if she were more interested in conversation than in food. "If you want to describe some of the pieces or shapes of metal you need for your projects, I can see if I've found anything matching the description."

[Narath]

"Thank you." Ian said, gratefully accepting the plate before sitting down on the ground.

There was only one chair in the kitchen since he was usually the only one here, so he decided that he'd let one of the others have it.

"Come here Argus." Ian beckoned when the coyote whined when he did not receive his own serving.

The creature trotted over towards his friend before curling up against his side. When Argus settled, Ian cut a portion from his dinner and placed it in front of his companion before digging in. After Ian settled the meet down, Argus quickly scarfed it down, licking his muzzle clean of anything left over.

"Thank you very much Mike, this is very well done." Ian said between mouthfuls.

"If you had any round collar sort of pieces with a screw fitted in it that could be tightened with an Alan wrench, that would be handy." Ian said to Kate.

While he answered her, Ian saw that she was not very eager to eat her serving of food. Was that why she was thin? Because she chose not to eat, not because she couldn't? This was something he'd probably have to talk to Mike about. Without Kate, since she might not want to speak about it.

"Hey, uh, Mike?" He asked to get his attention. "Would you mind going upstairs with me after we finish so we can find a place for you guys to sleep? I'll show Kate what the collar needs to fit over before we go up so that she has something to do."

[ValidEmotions]

"Not a problem," Mike smiled in response to Ian's thank you, looking apologetic a moment later when he realized he hadn't thought about Argus. He was going to grab the extra meat out again when Ian proceed to feed the canine part of his own meal. Kate seemed to follow suit, hand-feeding Argus a piece at a time. Mike's heart sank but he made himself appear playful as usual. "You should check with Ian first, Kitty-Kat. You don't want to give Argus a stomach ache from too much food, do you?"

 

Kate paused, another piece on her fork. The siblings only stared at each other for a moment before she deposited the bit of meat into her mouth and ate it for herself. The taste, while she knew Mike wasn't a bad cook, filled her mouth with bile as she chewed and swallowed. Part of her was caught between savoring the meal and giving it all to Argus or one of the guys. Her stomach continued to churn as she reluctantly ate another piece. Would Ian think she was vegetarian? She hoped that was all that might run through his mind. She didn't want anyone else worrying over her sorry excuse of wasted flesh and space...

 

Mike watched his sister from the corner of his vision, changing his attention over to Ian when the boy spoke about finding spots for them to sleep in. "Alright, sounds like an idea." He smiled faintly when Ian also proposed giving Kate something to work with; she was always pestering about doing something so she could be useful. While he would love to let his sister help with most things, Mike simply worried that she could aggravate her frail health. She'd only recently recovered from a stubborn fever and he feared she was weaker than she let on.

 

Once finished eating, Mike grabbed out a hollow container from the base of their bag and put his dish into it. Afterwards, he pulled out a secondary canister of river water, reserved for the sole purpose of dishwater. "When you're finished eating, Ian, just put your dinnerware in the bin. I'll heat up the water and get everything cleaned when we come back downstairs."

 

"I can take care of the water and wash the dishes. I watch you do them all the time." Kate sounded hopeful, that urge to be useful rising in her expression.

 

"Okay then, do you need help with the stove?" Mike asked and his sister shook her head, feeding another bit of meat to Argus from her palm. "Just be careful then." Mike's attention lingered on her a short while longer before he turned to Ian who was, hopefully, done eating by now. "Stairs are that way?"

Edited April 17, 2014 by Narvix

[Narath]

"It's fine with me if you share with him, as long as you leave at least half your meal for yourself." Ian said. "Argus knows that you'll need food yourself, so he won't eat more than that anyways."

That was another sign that she didn't want to eat, that she was feeding Argus after he already had his share. Ian would have to talk to him about that later.

"Yea, if you follow me, I'll show you around." Ian replied, placing his plate on the table. "Argus will show you where the water is Kate."

With that said, Ian let Mike upstairs, and just managed to see Argus licking at Kate's hand before leaving the room.

"So, I'm going to be honest with you Mike." Ian said once out of earshot. "I just kinda asked you up here cause I'm concerned about Kate. She seems a bit... Frail. Is everything all right with her?"

[ValidEmotions]

Kate didn't seem to catch Ian's comments, focused in Argus by the looks of things. However, mentally, she frowned and huffed; she just didn't want to eat....

 

Getting up when the two were gone, she glanced at Argus and slightly pouted. "Even you won't help me? Alright. I'll just put the rest to the side so you have something to eat later." She walked to one of the corners, putting the food on the floor out of notice and took the now-empty plate to the dish bin. "Now... How'd Mike get this thing on?" She paused before the stove, examining it and feeling around for buttons or dials that would ignite it.

 

Upstairs, Mike looked about the area, felling the walls for any unseen cracks or chewed away edges. Ian was talking, the words reaching his ears and sliding into sore places as the ever present question reared its ugly head. Was Kate alright? Mike stopped his idle inspection, staring at the wall and frowning. "I figured you would notice when you shook hands. I just didn't think you'd ask so soon."

 

Turning, he faced the taller boy, arms folding against his chest and fixing Ian with a steady gaze. To be fair, Mike was privately kicking himself for not pushing harder, for not working hard enough to get Kate back to her former health before this chaos became the new normal. "No, not everything's okay with her." Dare he tell all? If Kate found out, she would have his head and then her own. "She's had an eating disorder for some time now and, no matter how hard I push, I can't get her to eat properly again. You seem like a good kid, a personality that doesn't show up much and something that seems like Kate can be comfortable with. At least based on your talk of mythology earlier."

 

Where was he going with this? He didn't know. Shaking his head, he turned away from Ian again and focused on looking around upstairs again. "She's prone to self mutilation, that's why you see her bite her fingertips frequently. She's never told me the full story but I've my suspicions why she doesn't feel happy with her skin." No, it certainly wasn't a case like his, where he felt he was a young man trapped in a female form. "Before the virus, she was put into therapy and underwent frequent medical examinations. And I went to detention or was suspended on numerous occasions. Snot-nosed brats made a habit of pick on Kate and I made them my punching bags in return."

 

Propping a fist on his hip, he raked the fingers of his other hand through his short hair, glancing sidelong at Ian. "Let's move on. Kitty-Kat will have my head for telling you all this but, maybe you'll have better chances at helping her than I do. Who knows, right?" Mike shrugged his shoulders.

[Narath]

As Kate tossed the rest of her food on the ground, Argus looked at her sadly, and let out a sad whine. Even he knew that she still needed more food. When she began to filled with the stove, Argus grabbed Mike's bag from where he left it and dragged it over to her feet, and then pulled out the left over meat. Nudging her leg, he motioned towards the package with his nose, and then licked at her hand as if pleading with her to eat.

 

"I'm just trying to be a good friend to you guys." Ian said to Mike. "I was picked on a lot too, which often ended up with the other guy beat up, despite me being a skinny git. Ancient Greece was a topic I liked because of the stories. It was like another world that I could escape into. Though that wasn't quite enough all the time.

"Anyways, thanks for telling me this. I know that it's rather personal, and you have no reason at all to tell me, but I appreciate it. I will do what I can to try help her, but I was never too good with people."

As he spoke, Ian led him towards his room, opening the window once they arrived.

"So, right now this is my room." He started as he checked the area outside the window. "As you can see, I got a hammock set up in the corner over there. If you want, you guys can have this room since its already set up for the most part, and I'll just empty another room for myself.

"The thing about this room is though, is that it's the only one in the house with an opening window. And even though we are indoors, it's usually best to have one person awake there on watch. You two know how to handle a gun?"