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Juniper sighed softly. She snatched the matchbox and pushed it into her pocket, sighing softly. “Thank you.” Im not so sure he finds these things… She bit her lip.
“Well, I’m off to bed. If I’m gone don’t worry about me. I have a few things to do in the morning.”
Astrid shimmered with sleepy happiness as she nodded.
"Goodnight, Juniper." She whispered, standing up and walking down the hall to her bedroom.
She opened the door, squeaky enough as it is, and tip-toed to the half-functioning twin sized mattress, slowly peeling the oversized jacket off of her and setting it down on the floor next to her, falling onto the mattress and quickly falling asleep.
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Juniper only nodded before she returned to her corner, sighing softly as she laid down. Her joints were sore. She hadn’t gotten much sleep recently.
The blankets were soft, warm. They stirred some long forgotten memories from the back of her mind. Juniper fell asleep to soft memories of laughter and love.
The next morning she woke rather roughly, groaning in pain as she sat up. Her wound had reopened, blood soaking through the bandages. A low growl left her throat.
Astrid used to rely on her clock's alarm to wake her up, helping her live each day by a comforting schedule, but now she can't hear the alarm; the loud noises stresses her out. Instead, Jesse wakes her up before he returns back to sleep himself.
Astrid crawled out of bed as Jesse furrowed a brow at her.
"You slept in your clothes from yesterday?"
Astrid, still waking up, looked down at herself to see what Jesse was talking about.
"Oh," She shrugged her shoulders absentmindedly, "I guess I did."
Confusion and shock filled Jesse's face as he tries to remain calm.
"Astrid…did you-"
"It's okay, Juniper helped me out of it."
Jesse's face was nearly unreadable as Astrid ran a hand through her even messier curls, the freckles on her face glistening in the sun's rising rays. Astrid sludged out of her bedroom and into the main room. It was still early, but bright enough that the sun could shine. Jesse returned to his bedroom to sleep in more.
"How'd you sleep?" Astrid inquired, noticing Juniper sitting up from where she laid.
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Juniper glanced up, smiling weakly. “The best I ever have.” She mumbled, shaking her head as she pulled the bandage from her arm and discarded to to the side of her. She was still wrapped up in the blankets, looking comfy.
“Thank you for letting me stay…” she said suddenly, studying her bloody arm. “I needed this.”
Astrid noticed Juniper's arm and flinched slightly.
"Has that not healed at all? Didn't Jesse patch it up?"
Astrid knew Jesse wasn't the best at making friends, but he could at least help an injury. His hesitation to trust Juniper was mutual, so he was going to have to make an effort to gain trust, rather than letting the other person earn his trust.
Astrid opened a cabinet in the kitchen, revealing a loaf of uncovered bread. It still looked edible, though, so she broke off a good two pieces, sitting next to Juniper and handing a piece to her.
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Juniper looked up, shaking her head. “It’s getting worse if anything. He didn’t patch it up, mostly because I didn’t let him.” She replied sheepishly. “He doesn’t trust me. I’m afraid he’ll do something to the wound and it’ll make it worse.”
She didn’t mean to be so untrusting and worried around people. She hadn’t been shown much kindness. Which was one of the reasons she felt so drawn to Astrid’s home with her brother.
Juniper took the bread with a soft nod of thanks, tearing into it and sighing. She shifted the blankets to avoid getting blood on them, instead letting herself bleed onto her pant leg.
Astrid raised an eyebrow at Juniper, confused, but trying to understand.
"Jesse goes out at night and has to deal with those creatures all the time. He's seen that kind of wound before because he's had it before."
Astrid stood up, walking to the bag that Jesse left on the table from last night, and dug through it. Luckily, she pulled out a handful of bandage cloths, and she returned to Juniper.
"May I? I can at least stop the bleeding until Jesse fixes it. Which he will, I'll make sure of it."
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She nodded slowly, a little ashamed of her untrusting nature. Her eyes dropped to the floor as she nibbled on her bread. “They’re awful creatures.” She said simply.
Juniper’s eyes lifted to watch the other female. As she made her way over, Juniper shifted again. “Oh… yeah. Sure.” She held her arm out gingerly for the other to take.
(I'm so sorry I'm trying to cram homework bc I've been procrastinating all week lol)
Astrid carefully placed the bandage cloth onto the girl's arm, trying her best not to become too grossed out by the wound, as she wrapped the piece around to tighten it's grip. She pushed slightly on the wound, but couldn't bring herself to press any harder, in fear that she'd hurt Juniper.
"Hold it above your heart, that'll slow the bleeding."
She whispers, somehow remaining calm.
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(Ahaha It’s alright. I made chili I’m my spare time because why not? XD)
Juniper bit down on her tongue, refusing to whimper as the pain grew. Once Astrid had finished she sucked in a breath. “Man that stings.” She joked half heartedly, smiling at her as she lifted the arm above her head. “You could touch bone with my wound. I wonder if it’s always going to be like that? It’ll suck because I can’t use my hand very well because there are damaged nerves and muscles.”
(Sick! is it any good?)
Astrid flinched when Juniper reacted, but she tried to remain careful around her wound. Astrid leaned away from the arm as Juniper held it up.
"You could get a bat, like Jesse has. Then you wouldn't have to risk yourself, Jesse said the bat serves as a weapon and a shield. When a creature lunges for a bit, he points the bat in front of him to avoid getting bitten."
Astrid looked over at the window, noticing the sun rising higher in the sky.
"Oh, I'm late for my morning walk. Do you want to come with?"
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(Man fam it’s so good. I ate like three bowls. XD)
The advice made her smile. Astrid was a good person. She and her brother deserved to be above in the safe cities. Juniper did not.
“That would be smart of me. I used to have a gun. Unfortunately, many cities declare that ‘unsafe’ and take them away when you enter. They don’t ever give them back.” A bat wouldn’t be taken.
“Oh. Sure! A walk sounds wonderful.”
( HOly shit that sounds like some great chili)
Astrid smiled sweetly as she makes her way to the pile of worn shoes by the door, putting on a pair of brown army boots that just barely fit her. She quickly rushed to her room to grab her oversized jacket before returning to the kitchen, looking for something to eat in the cooler box they used in place of a fridge. She pulled out two apples, holding one out to Juniper.
"Would you like an apple? It doesn't look like it's spoiled yet."
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(XD It was good)
Juniper had slept in her clothes, jacket and shoes included. So she stood, her arm still above her head and a tired, pained look upon her face. "It's alright, I have some food… I don't want to eat all of yours." She replied sheepishly, smiling sweetly. "I'm already intruding."
Astrid shrugged and set an apple back into the cooler, walking to the door as she stretches. As she opens the door, the sun's rays spilled into the house and filled the room with light. Astrid noticed the German Shepherd sitting in her yard, an attentive smile plastered on his face. Astrid turned to Juniper, but only looked at her jacket.
"That's Polygon." She uttered as she pointed to him, a grin growing. "He comes by for food from Jesse, but I guess he's early today. He usually knows Jesse sleeps in, so if he's too hungry to wait he'll go around and bark at Jesse's window."
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Juniper closed her eyes at the sun’s rays. The mornings were always better. The air seemed fresher and the sun more gentle. She opened her eyes and froze at the visitor.
Juniper seemed to shy away from the dog, a slight fear upon her face. She had dealt with many stray and wild dogs and preferred not to go near them.
Except Polygon seemed to be less threatening than the others. He wasn’t foaming st the mouth or barking. No, he was calm, curious. Sane.
“Oh. I didn’t know Jesse had a dog…”
Astrid shrugs at Juniper's words.
"I mean, he doesn't live here. But he saved Jesse from a creature one time. If you asked Jesse, he'd say Polly only killed the creature for himself, because he then fed on the creature, but he also followed Jesse home."
Astrid gave Polygon a gentle pat on his head as he smiles in return, closing his eyes and basking in the morning sun.
"I like Polygon because he doesn't pity himself."
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“Oh.” She hesitantly reached out and let the dog sniff her hand. “He’s not as violent as the other dogs I’ve seen…” she murmured, biting her lip.
“Is he nice?” She asked, suddenly pulling her hand away. “I haven’t had too many good experiences with dogs.”
"Only to people." Astrid chimes, taking another bite of her apple. "Although he doesn't like the authorities or guards that roam around, but he knows not to be hostile toward 'em."
Astrid turns toward her familiar path before walking, not really bothering to say anything afterwards. Instead, she took in a deep breath, the first fresh one since yesterday morning, as she stuffed her hands in her pockets and closed her eyes, knowing the path well enough to walk it in her sleep.
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"Ah… I wouldn't ever think to tame one of them. They're just as unpredictable as the creatures are." She growled under her breath, huffing. "I don't trust them as much." She used to. Until she was nearly mauled to death by a pack of hungry dogs. They really had turned on humanity since the nuclear fallout.
"I would." Astrid uttered, opening her eyes to look up into the sky. Her gaze desperately climbed through the floating cities, to see the real sky, the one with the clouds and the sun, and the stars you can't see during the day. The fog already started to replace the clouds as Astrid sighed.
"Regular old dogs are just like the people that crawl around the streets desperate for their next meal. They're only doing what they can to survive. The fact that Polygon saved Jesse really proved to Jesse that Polygon felt more attachment to Jesse, or at least enough to risk himself for Jesse's life."
Astrid kicked a leaf, rather than stepping on it and crushing it, as it floated almost a foot away from her before falling back onto the gravel.
"I trust Polygon more than those that live in the floating cities. What effort have they put to improve the living conditions down here? How much do you think they care about whether we live or die?"
Astrid huffed a frustrated sigh when she thought about it. The floating cities were anathema to her, and she knew she couldn't get too worked up about it. Not right now, at least.
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Juniper listened with a small frown. She felt a small pant of guilt hit her chest. Was it bad she wanted to get into one of the floating cities? That she vowed to do so even if it got her killed?
She needed up there. She had to be there. Just to see something normal again. Just to see dogs with humans and actual jobs and no dirt on anyone. Instead she got stuck on the ground, covered in muck and blood and up to her waist in bodies.
“Mm, never heard anything think that way before about it all.”
Astrid shrugged her shoulders, sticking her hands into her pockets to avoid fidgeting. A slight morning breeze brushed through her hair as she blinked her eyes that remained transfixed in the clouds.
"My mother and father were smart people. They educated us as much as they could, but my older brother said they were withholding information from us. Jesse argued that they were doing it to protect us, but he persisted."
Astrid paused her walk as she looked to the ground, tightening her hand into a fist as she thought about her older brother.
"After my parents were killed, he set out to discover the secrets they were keeping from us."
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The girl listened carefully, rubbing her neck nervously. Her arm was lowered, a small pain had turned into a large throb. “What did he find?” She asked softly, carefully.
Sometimes secrets were awful things to hide. They would upturn families and get some people killed. Others put small children out on the streets to fend for themselves. Such had happened to Juniper more or less.
Her mother and father abandoned her so they could live in the city above. Juniper wanted nothing more than to find them. What she would do when she found them was still undetermined. But it wouldn’t be nice.
Astrid bit her lip as she tightened her throat to resist tearing up. Her nails dug into her lower palm of her hand as she shook her head.
"I haven't seen him since that day. Jesse wants me to accept that he's dead, but something tells me he's still alive."
Astrid took a deep breath and continued her walk, hoping her muscles would relax eventually as she started to feel slight blood drip from the palm of her hands.
She wondered how she'd explain that to Jesse.
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“Mm so he disappeared…?” She thought for a moment, eyes narrowed. “In which direction did he go?” She asked suddenly, looking out to the distance suddenly. “I’ve heard stories of children going missing. Some people are blaming those genetics labs down that way. Remember the one I told you about with the trees they’re trying to grow? They think they’re taking them to do some crazy experiments or whatever.” Juniper let herself relax.
“I don’t dare go that way. There was a lot of Sinatanuim poisoning in the water and the food that way. It’s not safe.”
(Oh btw this is actually based off the novel I’m writing and the labs are the main focus cuz they create half-human half-animal hybrids XD)
(Sick! I'm using characters from my dystopian story so I actually have a whole story with Astrid's older brother but I'm not sure if it's,,,,,,in this universe, so I'm waiting to see if I should alter his story to fit this universe LMAO)
Astrid perked up, curious, but confused.
"Children? Roger was around seventeen when he left."
Astrid resisted the temptation to glance around at the people on the streets, the ones that she couldn't tell if they were dead or asleep. The ones where she couldn't tell if they were always insane or delirious from lack of water and food. This part of the walk was her least favorite, but it was sobering.
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(OOH LETS COMBINE THEM XD XD if possible and if not I don’t mind at all. Like have your lore with her brother???)
“Teens too.” She added, biting her lip. “I don’t believe them. The owner of the labs created the Sinatanium cores that keep those cities afloat and our ships running. She’s a nice lady.”
Juniper suddenly stopped, shifting nervously before she pulled Astrid with her to the side so a ground-riding ship could pass. From the ship’s barred windows people squinted out, some even reaching for Juniper and Astrid. “Don’t touch them… they’re infected by the radioactivity.”
(Yeah he's actually technically the main character in my story! I just wanted to practice working with his sister haha)
Astrid looked down as Juniper spoke, but flinched when Juniper pulled her one direction, stiffening her body as Juniper told her not to touch the infected people. With how stiff Astrid became, she wasn't sure she could even move, so she fidgeted her thumbs as she waited for them to pass so she can relax. Astrid grabbed a handful of cloth from her oversized jacket in an attempt to calm herself.
