Just A Kid

[ValidEmotions]

Kate started, jumping aside when Argus began licking her hand and quickly pulling her arms in close to her chest. She wasn't used to creatures licking her, let alone when she wasn't paying attention to them. Realizing that the coyote had set the wrapped meat near her feet, she frowned and pointed over at the back area. "If you're still hungry, I put the rest of the meal on the floor over there. Go eat that." She was mistaking his signs as a wish for him to be fed more.

 

Crouching down to pick up the extra meat (checking the paper wrapping for any puncture holes or saliva), she placed it back into the bag and zipped it closed, moving it to the other end of the room and resting it on top of the single chair that occupied the same area. Hopefully this would encourage Argus to eat what was in the floor instead of sticking his nose in other people's stuff. When her hands were free again, she went to the deposited food once more and picked up a piece to hold it out to Argus. "See? Food's still here for you. Or are you just picky and don't like eating off the ground?" Which would have been odd given the fact that the coyote had done so earlier when Ian fed him.

 

Regardless, she needed to get the dishes taken care of or Mike would beat her to it. Standing again, she rolled up her sleeves, eyes unfocused so she didn't see the scars, and made her way back to the stove. Kate figured out how to get it ignited, pouring the water into the bin and letting the bin rest above the source of heat until the liquid was of decent warmth. The propane was turned off, the bin remaining on top of the warm burner so the water didn't cool so quickly. Then she hissed in irritation. "You're stupid, Kate. How'd you forget the scrub?" Shaking her head with a huff, she hurried back to the bag to retrieve a scrub sponge and what remained of their little soap bar. At last, she was able to start washing.

 

~~~~

 

Peering out of the window, Mike looked towards both ends of the street. "I appreciate you wanting to be a friend. We've met a mix of people; friendlies, enemies, and people who simply wanted to be alone. Kate won't admit it but she could use having at least one friend, someone who's not me. So long as you can remember enough details about those stories or other intellectual things that isn't math, you can't go wrong in keeping her attention." Moving away from the window again, Mike smirked. "Nah, keep your room. Kate and I are quick with most work so, all ya gotta do is guide us on where you want this or that to be stored away and we'll make it happen."

 

On the subject of guns, Mike's smirk turned to a serious expression. "I won't let Kate touch a gun. I know how to use one but I try not to. I did let Kate learn how to use a knife but I hold on to it unless I can keep her in my sight and it's beneficial for her to wield it." All for obvious reasons to Mike but might require a bit of thinking from Ian. Maybe not.

 

"I do like your hammock idea and I think I can fashion something similar for Kate at the least. She's always found comfort in sleeping in a hammock." Now Mike was thinking on what supplies the siblings had in their bag, trying to figure out if he had any material that could be converted into a makeshift hammock.

[Narath]

When Kate just repacked the food before tossing it onto the chair, Argus huffed grumpily and curled up at her feet. Why did humans have to be so thick sculled?

 

"Well, I was quite good with math too, so if you need to punish her or something, let me know and I'll make up a class for her." Ian joked with a grin.

"You two will still have to help me take watch though." Ian continued after locking the window back up. "I know you are just guests for now, but I do have a few rules here, all of which are pretty fair. One of them is keeping watch. You guys can have the first few nights here off since you need rest after being on the road, but eventually you'll have to start too. And I mean both of you. Look, I know you just said you won't let her touch a gun, but it is something she needs to learn just in case. I understand your reasons, but just hear me out. All this time you've been sheltering her, and telling her what she can't do, and what she has to do. Maybe it's time to trust her with some responsibility. I'm not saying we give her her own weapon, I'm just saying that.she can use one of ours while she's on watch. But to do that, she'll need to learn to shoot. Look, I know you won't like hearing this, but a little trust goes a long way."

They were now in one of the rooms in the center of the upper floor, the safest room in the house. Ian generally used it as the storage area, so various objects were scattered about the room; sheets of metal, tarps, ropes, tool boxes, crates filled with different materials and more things of the sort.

"This room will be fairly good for you two. I'll just shove everything over to the side since its not really organized anyways. You two are of course welcome to use anything in here you want. If you're interested in starting a project, I'll gladly help you out."

[ValidEmotions]

Mike had to give the kid points for being as optimistic as he was in this kind of world. While he wasn't pessimistic, he had experience where his sister was concerned. However, deciding that arguing any sort of point would be fruitless so he didn't respond with anything but a simple nod. He wouldn't tell Ian that he had trusted Kate with a gun, that if she hadn't fumbled in the dark of the building, he would have had much more guilt on his shoulders than he did now.

 

The ghost of a smile flickered across his features as Ian spoke about pushing everything to the sides to make sleeping space. Shaking his head, he allowed the thoughts to be dispelled and paid more attention to the here-and-now. "I'll keep that in mind. Maybe I can find a way to improve your stove so it could also be a reliable source of heat? Unless it already is?" he asked tentatively, not certain about how the other boy might take to someone tinkering with his projects or other belongings that were already in a working state.

 

"Kate's probably finished with the dishes by now and might be looking for something else to busy herself with. I could also head down and bring our gear up here so beds can be set up." Additionally, he wanted to get downstairs and check that she had actually eaten something; Kate had learned how to be crafty with discarding or replacing food she didn't eat.

[LeviathinGeneral]

(Sorry been busy. What's happenng?)

[Narath]

((The stove is just one of those small Bunsen burner camp stoves you know.

Well, Kate and Mike are just getting settled in Ian's house right now leviathan.))

 

"I don't think we should do that." Ian said. "The burner runs on propane, and that's a very limited recourse since there are no longer any places that refine it. I have a bunch stocked up, but those are in a safe house I made. I'd rather not store something flammable and explosive in my home.

"There is a fire place here though, which is one of the reasons I chose this place, but when the fire is on, I have to open the chimney and that just creates another entrance for something dangerous, as well as creates smoke to attract unwanted attention. Therefore, we use it as little as possible. If you do get cold, I have a large collection of blankets over there on the rack. After the first winter after everything happened I decided to grab every one I could get my hands on.

"Sorry, I'm rambling a bit. I do appreciate your eagerness to help though. I do hope that you and Kate decide to stay since it would make many things easier on all of us. And if you two don't like the setup I have here, we can always find somewhere else, or expand into a house next door or something. Break down a few holes in the walls, make some connecting halls. Sound fun?"

During his long speech, Ian had begun walking with Mike downstairs to check up on Kate as Mike had suggested. As Ian said, he wasn't very social, so he did not always know when to stop. When they arrived in the kitchen, Ian greeted Kate warmly and patted Argus as he walked by him to tug on Mike's pants leg. After doing that, Argus trotted over to the corner to point at the discarded food with a paw, and then pointed to Kate with his nose. Ian didn't notice this though as he helped Kate to pack up the stove.

 

((Argus is such a tattle-tale ))

[ValidEmotions]

[[if you're talking about Ian's home, there's no fire lit in the fireplace and we never changed days from the start of the thread :c

 

I can post again in a couple of hours. ]]

[LeviathinGeneral]

(Whoops sorry.)(Give me a minute to reread through the post since me pastime.)

[Narath]

((Bump. Anyone there?))

[ValidEmotions]

[[sorry, Narath |D When you labeled it a propane stove, it kind of threw me off about what it looked like.]]

 

Mike nodded, thinking over Ian's comments. "I doubt we'll complain about the place as is. I mean, compared to sleeping out in the woods or in stink-filled alleys, this place is a treat to have." Then Ian was helping Kate and Argus was tugging on the bottom hem of his shorts. "What?" The coyote was certainly strange in its behavior but, then again, Mike wasn't much of an animal behavior expert so, for all he knew, this could have been normal body language in even wild coyotes. Following the canine's steps and nose pointing, the young man began to frown.

 

Kate hadn't eaten her food.... Again.

 

He sighed, rubbing his face and wanting to pull at his hair. "Thanks Argus," he mumbled, glancing over his shoulder towards his sister. Her back faced him, her attention on Ian and the stove as the two cleaned up what remained of the makeshift sink.

 

She was drying off the last dish, taking the tiny stack and gently storing the plates away into the travel bag. Looking up, she caught Mike's gaze and paused, instantly spying his pained disapproval. Quickly shifting her eyes to the coyote near her brother, she mentally cursed Argus for being a hairy traitor. Huffing softly, she turned her attention away from the males and went to carry the dish bin outside, intending to dump the used water out; it wouldn't do any good to use it again as that could spread diseases and none of them had medicine.

[Narath]

((That's understandable. It's sometimes tricky to convey exactly what you are imagining through text. Anyways, it's just one of those small ones that fold up and have a couple of burners.))

 

Pleased with the praise Mike gave him, Argus gave her a wolfish smile. He liked the new humans. They were nice. Although the smaller one was a bit foolish. Why would someone toss aside food they needed? Well, at least now that he had shown the bigger female what happened, it was now fine to eat the meat on the ground now.

"Kate, you'll need to toss the waste water out a ways away from the house." Ian said as she headed towards the door. "The smell of clean water is handy for hiding our scent, but that stuff has a strange enough smell to attract unwanted attention."

Following her to the door, Ian slid the wooden board from its lock and set it aside before opening the door for her.

"Would you like me to accompany you out there?" He asked. "Just in case there's something dangerous."

 

((When talking about Mike from Argus' point of view, I'm going to be talking about her/him like a female since Argus does not think about gender personality wise.))

Edited April 21, 2014 by Narath

[ValidEmotions]

[[still around. I just need to focus on homework. I'll post soon as I can.]]

[Narath]

((Alright. I wish you luck!))

[littlelizzie]

((I'm so bad at staying around, jeez. I'll be back tomorrow because my eyes hurt now and I want to sleep. I swear, if I'm not back tomorrow someone has to beat me up or something-- I'll be making a recap thing and putting it on the front page too and keep up to date with that so it's easy for people to be caught up :>

 

I don't know where half of the people who joined this went, but I'm going to PM them tomorrow and ask what's going on. I'm sorry for going away, but some personal stuff has been going on and school is being a jerk. I really do appreciate this staying alive though, so thank you Narvix and Narath~ <3 You both get cookies//sets out cookies.

 

Okay, now I'm going to sleep))

[groundporkchops]

((Not sure what's a'happening here but maybe I'll just jump in and see what happens. Also, is there a recap at all somewhere?))

 

Alva, City Entrance

In all the time they had been living in the forests, Alva had not entered a city of any fashion. The collection of crumbling buildings and cracked tar roads almost didn't count as a city anymore but most cities her and Aodan had passed had been lifeless except for mutated animals and the corpses of the last survivors.

 

Niri padded a few steps in front of her, her yellow-gold eyes watching and her nose constantly twitching as she checked the area. Her brother was coming behind her, about 5 minutes behind she though. Aodan was securing their makeshift camp, checking that the traps and wards were up and running.

They had set up old bear traps, along with pits and trenches to protect their weapon and gear supplies, while carrying most of their food with them.

 

She followed a few streets, wound her way through a few tiny alleyways and onto a larger street, which she followed once again. A couple of houses looked like they were inhabited or had been recently. Maybe she would find someone eventually?

"Niri, stick close okay?"

 

((Anyone want to be awesome and interact here? Not really sure how to get my characters in really.))

 

 

[Moonlight_Eevee]

(I have to wait for Lizzie to interact with my character. So, I have no clue what's going on either)

[groundporkchops]

((Bump. Where is everyone, guys?))

[ValidEmotions]

[[Ground, you can have Alva spot Kate and Ian as they dump out dishwater. If it's okay with you, Narath. I don't know how far out Alva is from our trio's location.]]

 

"Thanks," Kate mumbled, stepping through the entryway after Ian had cleared and opened the door for her. She had been set on handling the task by herself, doorway included, but the older boy had done it before she'd even reached the door. Now she was caught between using common sense, accepting his offer to tag along, and her own pride of not wanting to appear weak or useless. "Putting it that way, alright. You can also show me where you prefer to dump used water," she responded, suggesting an alternative course to avoid being viewed as anything but tougher than she physically was.

 

Mike, while the other two sorted out dumping spots, briefly watched Argus eat what had been deposited from Kate's meal. He turned to see her disappear outside with Ian behind her and hummed quietly. After a moment, he decided it was best to busy his hands, removing their blanket from the bag and carrying it upstairs to the room Ian lent them for use. Glancing at the various items scattered about the room, he lightly rested the blanket to the side and began to plot out which items he could move without worry of damaging anything. The young man started closer to the sides, making a sort of spiral inwards as he moved first one thing and then another, a third, and so forth.

 

[[.-. This is so small! I can't think of anything else though |D]]

[Narath]

"Before we go too far," Ian said as he stepped out the door. "I think you should hold onto this till we get back."

The young man slipped out his pistol from his holster and slipped it into Kate's pocket. She may not know exactly how to shoot, but it was better than nothing.

"It's just in case." he explained as he began to lead the way down the barren street with his rifle at the ready. "There isn't always very many creatures around here, but since it's late afternoon, more will be out."

 

Finishing his second little meal, Argus looked up to find that he was now alone. He knew that Ian and the small girl were off on an errand, but the coyote had no idea.where the other human was. After wondering around the house, Argus finally found her in the storage area, cleaning away some of the floor. Feeling bored, he trotted up behind the female and nudged her arm gently with his nose, and stretched himself out ing the ground beside her.

 

((Yaaaaay! You're back!))

[ValidEmotions]

[[Techno, you're supposed to PM forms to Lizzie....

Yay for being back! |D]]

 

Mike jumped when Argus's nose touched his elbow, survival instinct telling him to jab his elbow backwards into whatever had startled him. At the same time, he began to twist around to face... Argus. Hoping he hadn't offended the creature or invoked some kind of aggressive retaliation, the young man let out a quiet sigh and sat back, eyeing the canine. "You look bored...," he remarked, getting to his feet once more. There was a large enough space near the center of the room for the siblings to sleep, allowing Mike to shake out the blanket and checking it for any clinging insects.

 

He didn't want to just lay on the floor, doing nothing, until the other two returned. But what was there for him to do? Looking around, Mike debated on if he should acquaint himself with Ian's projects. However, he didn't want to accidentally break anything and that kept him from even touching an item unless he knew he could move it without any bits falling off. Looking at Argus again, he paused. "Know any games?"

 

~~~~

 

Kate stopped when Ian put the pistol into her coat pocket, staring at where his hand had been and focusing on what she had seen of the handgun before it was mostly out of sight. "Um... Sure...." She didn't say any more, moving again and following Ian. What had it been? A year, maybe two, since she last had a gun on her person? She shook her head, getting her attention off of the added weight to her coat and focusing, instead, on the weight of the bin with its water.

 

"What sort of creatures do you see most around here?" she inquired, momentarily watching how the water sloshed or rippled within the bin as she took each step. Then she looked up and over at Ian expectantly, wondering if he might be some creature expert. It would make sense, given that he had Argus. So, at the very least, he would know a lot about his coyote friend.

 

[[i'm stalling until Ground makes her post.]]

[Narath]

Argus let out a yelp as Mike smacked his nose with his elbow, covering it with a paw. Casting a glare at the strange female, Argus swung his tail to swat her with it grumpily. When the human asked if he knew any games, Argus sat and thought. He did think of just letting her sit in boredome as retribution for hurting his poor little nose, but she already got a tail swat and he was fine with that for now. Walking over to the back of the room, Argus dug out a rope and brought it back over to Mike and laid it at his feet. Hopefully the human would grab one of the ends.

 

"We'll often see what is left of house pets when we are in the city." Ian replied, glancing back to make sure he wasn't moving too fast for Kate. "Dogs, cats, birds, lizards, snakes, and even some spiders."

As he listed the spiders, a shiver ran down his spine. He used to like the eight legged creatures, he even teased his best friend about being afraid of them, but now after what happened to all the animals...

"Spiders now a days are just horrible. If you see one, either run or shoot the crap out of it."

They were now at the side of the road where rubble was piled up from.a collapsed building. Slinging the rifle over his shoulder, Ian leapt up and grabbed a rocky ledge above him, proceeding to pull himself up once he had a good grip.

"Here, just shove the water onto the ledge and then take my hand." Ian said as he leaned over the ledge, his hand extended outwards.

 

((Alright then, I'll have Ian lead her a bit further away. We'll just use the excuse that it's for safety.))

[groundporkchops]

Niri tensed as the sounds of movement filled her ears and she caught the scent of two people nearby.

"Alva, there are people close."

 

Alva shivered as the low voice of her companion drifted into her mind, and immediately, hope sparked in her center. There were people here, they were not alone! She had hoped to find someone, anybody and there were! Aodan would not be happy but her brother was a suspicious person, no doubts about it. He understood the need to find shelter though, before the winter set in. "Niri, do not attack unless provoked. We need these people, like it or not." Taking a deep breath, she walked on around the corner.

 

She rounded the corner and saw a tall young man with blond hair on a ledge, hand outstretched to a dark haired girl carrying a bucket of what smelled like used or unclean water. She froze as she felt their eyes on her and automatically slid her hand down to the sheath on her right leg, which held her long hunting knife. She had a rifle slung over her right shoulder but she wouldn't reach for it yet. She would be a threat and threats were eliminated in this new world.

 

If they seemed hostile, she would run or stall for time until Aodan arrived, which ever happened first. She waited with baited breath for them to react but after a moment, she gathered her bravado.

"Um, hi?"

Oh, she was so screwed.

[Narath]

Before Kate could grab his hand, Ian caught some movement out of the corner of his eye. Looking up, he saw someone with what looked like a fox mutant.

"Kate, stay behind me." Ian said as he leaped down from the ledge, unslinging his rifle as he hit the ground.

He disliked having to greet people this way, but now a days you could never be too careful. There were those out there that would gladly attack him for the stuff he had. Plus, there was no way he was going to let a new friend get hurt.

"What do you want?" Ian called out to her, eyeing the Fox wearily.

Man, he wished he had Argus here. Now he had to worry about a person and a mutant, and mutants were quite the wild card.

[groundporkchops]

Alva tensed as the man lifted his rifle, the threatening gesture putting her on edge immediately. Her fingers itched to grasp her own rifle but she fought it down, knowing it would start a conflict she knew she couldn't win.

 

Lifting her hands into the air to show she was unarmed, she slowly slung her pack off of her shoulders.

"I mean no harm. My brother and I are strangers here, we traded goods in the previous towns. Niri won't hurt you, unless you hurt me and you don't seem to the type to kill at random."

 

She watched the blonde young man, his movements with the weapon and tensed every time he moved. It frightened her, the sight of the gun pointed at her and having no one with her. She had jaded over the past years but she was still sixteen and still as insecure as ever.

"We are only looking for shelter, this is the only inhabited town we have found in the past 4 months. We can trade anything: bullets, weapons, food, you name it. I'm Alva, Alva Hjort."

Alva held her breath, hoping the blond man would lower the rifle before she had a heart attack from adrenalin.

[Narath]

"The names Ian." The young man called, lowering the gun slightly. "We could use some more food. But where is this brother of yours? Is he sneaking up on us?"

Now he definitely wished that Argus was here. He'd be able to tell if this was a trap. Because of that chance though, Ian was not going to put the gun away.

[LeviathinGeneral]

(MEANWHILE)

Blaze, realizing the girl was harmless, slowly lowered his bow and couldn't help but show the faintest of smiles at her joke. He watched as the new girl approached, noting that the one armed girl also had her own animal, appearing to be a dog. He nodded at them all and bowed his head in a way of apology. He would have spoke but realized that he couldn't. Great, I'm a mute, he cursed himself. A shadow flitted across the sun. He looked up and noticed a large owl mutant, about 6 feet in length, was circling towards them. Quickly he beckoned at the others.