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"Oh, I'm good." Liam said relieved. "That's what I've been doing anyway." He sat back down in front of Zeus and gave him some more snuggles. "Other than the part about using this wonderful beast as a pillow that is."
"Oh, I'm good." Liam said relieved. "That's what I've been doing anyway." He sat back down in front of Zeus and gave him some more snuggles. "Other than the part about using this wonderful beast as a pillow that is."
"He is pretty great," Alastor chuckled, petting Zeus on the head which resulted in the dog happily thumping his tail against the ground.
"I don't mean to pry, but do you have any family that you've been able to get in contact with?" Alastor asked, rummaging through the contents of his backpack before finally finding a treat to give Zeus.
He did get lonely, but he also suspected she did, and he wanted to alleviate that.
Ariella's lips pulled up into a small smile at his bow. Had they met before all of this, she would have giggled, even tossed her hair back. But that was before. This is after. "Ariella Karrington." She introduced herself. She thought about holding her hand out, but she figured he wasn't going to get off the horse.
It could be dangerous to join him. But it would likely be dangerous if she didn't join him. If he rubbed her the wrong way, she could always leave. Or kill him in his sleep. It was the coward's way but if it kept her alive she would do what she needed to.
"Do I have to get on your horse?"
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"Do I have to get on your horse?"
Ariella. That is a lovely name that I am Never going to be able to pronounce correctly. he thought to himself.
He shook his head. "No, not with me anyway. You can ride him if you're tired of walking, I'll keep up." He slid out of the saddle. "Or we can both walk, whatever you want." He held out another granola bar, noticing the second one he'd given her was gone. "I found a box of these recently. Hope you like granola. Or-" he turned and dug around in the saddlebag. "I have some fruit in here, I think. Do you like apples?"
Ariella's gaze stuck to him as he slid off the horse. He was getting off his horse. To walk with her. Because she was walking. Either he was really good at acting or he really was genuine. She was also relieved she didn't have to ride his horse. She had been told they can sense fear and react to it. She didn't want to know what he would do should she get on him.
Her eyes narrowed in wonder. "Apples? Where did you get apples from?" She hadn't had fresh fruit in ages. She couldn't put a date on it. Time was lost to her these days.
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Liam looked up at that. "Um, no." He said shortly. "I, uh, havenβt,β He looked back to Zeus, βI donβt have any family to contact. That is, that I know of at least.β
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"Apples? Where did you get apples from?"
He smiled. "I raided a supermarket about a week ago. Think I've got two apples left if you want that instead." He looked over his shoulder at her. "The rest is all canned stuff, or granola bars."
Ariella nibbled on her bottom lip. She shouldn't ask for it, but when would an opportunity like this arise again? She cautiously stepped up beside him. She still kept a small distance between the two of them and she certainly didn't let her guard down. But she did want that apple.
"Ifβ¦if it's okay, I'll take the apple." She looked up at him. Standing beside him, she really noticed their body differences. She had to tilt her head back a great deal to look at him. While she had certainly packed on some muscles, limited food supplies had left her rather skinny. She could just about count all of her ribs. He looked a bit the opposite of her. He had filled out his physic, his body looked sculped from what she could see.
Feeling self-conscious, she tried petting down her hair. It was in two braids down her back, but it had been so long since she had taken care of it. There were likely a bunch of baby hairs sticking out.
Liam looked up at that. "Um, no." He said shortly. "I, uh, havenβt,β He looked back to Zeus, βI donβt have any family to contact. That is, that I know of at least.β
"Okay," Alastor said, casting a sympathetic glance at Liam. He fed Zeus the treat who ate it greedily before laying down on his side, resting.
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"you said that you were planning on leaving either tomorrow or the day after, do you know this area, or were you just planing on wondering until you found a suitable place?" Liam asked as he pushed his hair back out of his face, then did the same to Zeus's ears.
"I know absolutely nothing about this area," Alastor admitted. "I've just been trusting Zeus since he's a cadaver dog, which means he can track humans, both living and dead. Unfortunately, we come across more dead people than living ones, but sometimes we get lucky and find a few survivors to help out."
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"How does he track them? don't you need something that smells like them?" He looked at Zeus intently. "Can you find anyone?"
"Cadaver dogs are trained to track any human scents, specifically human remains that have been buried," Alastor explained eagerly. "Which is why we've been finding more dead humans instead of ones that are alive. Zeus was given extensive training in which he can detect traces like droplets of blood, shards of bones, and even cremated human remains. Ever since we got here I've walked the perimeter of this warehouse with him every day to see if he can scent anything but he hasn't found anything recent."
He paused for a moment, giving Liam an apologetic smile. "Sorry for lecturing you, you probably don't find the specifics of police dog training as interesting as I do."
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Liam shrugged. "I mean, It's better than sitting here in silence." he said "I've got a few things that I've picked up if you want to try them." He slid his backpack off his shoulders and opened the main pocket. Liam looked up at Alistor and changed his mind, instead he opened the front pocket and pulled out an even smaller bag made of mesh. "Only if you want to though." he said looking down again.
"What is it, exactly?" Alastor asked looking at the bag and noting the way Liam was going for the main pocket but he decided not to mention it.
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Liam just smiled and opened the bag. "It's a ferret." he said simply and pulled out a beat up stuffed ferret. "And another ferret." he pulled out another stuffed ferret, this one slightly less beat up. "And one more." This time he put the bag back in his backpack and reached into his hoodie pocket, and pulled out a small white live ferret. "Her name is Truffle but I just call her Tru." Liam looked up at Alistor and smiled.
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"Ifβ¦if it's okay, I'll take the apple."
He turned and handed it to her, giving it a little toss so she didn't have to come closer.
"There you go. If you want the other one, just ask."
She looked very vulnerable standing there, fussing with her hair, and Lucky's heart went out to her. She'd obviously been through a lot of garbage, and lucky knew what it felt like to have someone be kind to you for the first time in a while.
"Also, do you need anything else? More water?" He pointed to the water bottle strapped to the saddle. "There's medical stuff in the back saddlebags, although please ask, cuz there's stuff in there that will mess up your hands if you just go digging around looking for things."
He started walking in the direction of the next nearest town, leading Sinjoro by the reins.
Alastor blinked in surprise, looking at the three ferrets. Zeus perked up his ears and got up, sniffing the stuffed ferrets curiously.
"These are cool," he said, smiling at Liam. "Although I wouldn't leave them unattended or laying out if I were you. This beast right here absolutely loves shredding stuff. I lost my favorite pair of pants to him." He petted the German shepherd as he said this, sighing at the memory.
He started walking in the direction of the next nearest town, leading Sinjoro by the reins.
Ariella caught the apple. She stared at it in wonder. She took a bite, moaning as the juices hit her tongue. She loved sweet apples more than anything. She wished that she had savored her favorite foods before the apocalypse. She long for a burger or a slice of pizza.
She shook her head at the mention of water. She was alright at the moment, and she never knew how long it would be until she came across drinking water again. "I was in nursing school before the sickness hit. I know enough that I can handle medical supplies. I never finished schooling but I know enough." She patted her duffle bag. "I've got just about everything I need in here. Somehow, I've managed to keep others from stealing my supplies."
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Somehow, I've managed to keep others from stealing my supplies."
Lucky just arched an eyebrow at the sounds of her⦠enjoying the apple behind him.
He looked over his shoulder when she mentioned nursing school. "So you're a highly qualified person in a situation like this. That's really great." He smiled at her, trying to make sure she stayed comfortable with her surroundings.
He looked over his shoulder when she mentioned nursing school. "So you're a highly qualified person in a situation like this. That's really great." He smiled at her, trying to make sure she stayed comfortable with her surroundings.
(Let her enjoy her apple in peace! Although I realize how sexual that sounds now lol.)
Ariella let out a small laugh. "God no. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'm surprised I'm still alive. I know how to administer medicine, do CPR, and bandage. All the basic things. I can't do anything very complex."
She took another bite of the apple. She wiped the juice off that had dribbled onto her chin. She looked up at him, catching his gaze before quickly looking down at her shoes. She couldn't imagine what she looked like. She hadn't looked in a mirror in a while. She used her arm to rub at cheek, self conscious she might have some dirt on her face.
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(Let her enjoy her apple in peace!)
( π€£ )
Lucky laughed, not unkindly though. "Well, I'm sure you'll learn more as you try things. There are always going to be people who need help, so you're still very important."
She noted she kept fussing with her face, her hair, or anything else she felt self-conscious about. It was kind of cute, but she didn't need to worry.
They kept walking for a while, chatting on and off about various things, when Lucky heard a noise on the road. He tugged Sinjoro's reins, and turned to Ariella.
"Do you hear that?" he asked very quietly.
"Do you hear that?" he asked very quietly.
"I guess. I haven't had many patients to practice on, though that's probably a good thing." Ariella said, blocking out the memory of the blood on her hands. She did what she had to do to survive. There was no shame in that anymore. Her nightmares didn't ever seem to get the memo.
As she finished her apple, she placed the core in her bag right with the granola wrappers. She wiped at her lips and cheeks, making sure there weren't any apple pieces or juice left on her, and hopefully wiping away the rest of the dirt stuck on her and not smearing it.
Ariella looked up at Lucky as he tugged on the horse's reigns and they both came to a stop. She tilted her head in confusion. Why were they stopping?
"Hear what?" She matched his volume. Times like these made her wonder how she was still alive. He had heard something and she hadn't. She would've walked right into danger had it been just herself.
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"Hear what?"
Lucky realized he was hearing a conversation. It had been long enough that he didn't immediately recognize the sound. He motioned out on the road before turning and wrapping Sinjoro's reins loosely around a tree branch. He pulled a hatched out of the back saddlebag and stuck it in his belt, next to the knives. He kept his poncho pulled over it, so it wasn't easily apparent that he was armed. He nodded towards the road and started moving that way slowly.
"If you wanna stay here, that's fine. Or you can come with." He was whispering, feeling sure that if he could hear the conversation, whoever was talking could hear him.
He sneaked through the cars, weaving closer to the noise, until he was close enough to see it. He looked through the windows of the car he was hiding behind.
There was a guy on a bike talking to a tall guy and a younger girl. They were kinda in the middle of the road. The guy on the bike looked like he'd been coming from the direction of the town, and Lucky wondered if that was Lucas.
He stepped out around the car, showing himself, lifted his hands to show he wasn't a threat, and waved. "Hello there."
(That puts Lucas/Junifer/Devon/Lucky/Ariella in the same spot, if that's ok with all @EtherealDreamer @CaseyJ )
(Planning on having Veronica meet up with Liam/Alastor/Zeus when/if they ever leave the warehouse, if that's ok @ProbablyOkThoghMaybeNot @phantomflame )
Ariella followed Lucky out if the road, watching him tie up his horse. She blanched slightly as he pulled out his weapons. She took a small step back out of instinct, her own hand traveling to her knife. Trying to grab her bow and arrow would be too much of an obvious grab. She only used it from a distance. While she only really had a shorter range of accuracy, the further away she was, the more likely she was to survive.
She looked from Lucky, to the horse, then back to Lucky. Her choices were a horse that she wasn't sure she could get along with and going with Lucky to investigate noises she would most definitely run from had she been by herself.
She chose Lucky. "I'll go with you."
She was afraid of getting kicked or bitten by his horse. As least if the people the found were hostile, she'd push Lucky towards them and dart away.
Ariella positioned herself behind Lucky as they approached. She was wary of strangers. Not that Lucky wasn't a stranger but he had given her food and water and hadn't tried to hurt her yet. The same couldn't be said for these new people. She pressed herself up against his back once he came to a stop and peaked around hum to look at the new people.
"He is sc-" She started but Devon covered her mouth.
"June, once again, stop trying to tell strangers my life story" He glared.
June rolled her eyes, moving his hand away, "Fine, but he asked" she hummed, "now that you are out of the car, we can go somewhere else"
Lucas shrank back uncomfortably and nodded slowly.
"uhm, I was heading West beforeβ" he said quietly "you can come with or go another direction."
Lucas flushed and began walking back towards his bike.
"Well I was on a bike, because it's easier to go around the wrecks that way." He explained "but I guess since we're going as a group now, we can go on foot, since you guys don't have bikes."
(Planning on having Veronica meet up with Liam/Alastor/Zeus when/if they ever leave the warehouse, if that's ok @ProbablyOkThoghMaybeNot @phantomflame )
(Yeah that sounds good!)
(That puts Lucas/Junifer/Devon/Lucky/Ariella in the same spot, if that's ok with all @EtherealDreamer @CaseyJ )
(Planning on having Veronica meet up with Liam/Alastor/Zeus when/if they ever leave the warehouse, if that's ok @ProbablyOkThoghMaybeNot @phantomflame )
(I think that's a great idea.)
(maybe it could be a meeting of Lucky/Lucas/Junifer/Devon/Ariella some time soon.)
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