▍*♚⋮ ↷（wish you were here）[o/a]

[unknown binaries]

I DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE ANYMORExxxxx

( what i have is right here )
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「spend my nights and days before
xx.spend my nights and days before
xx.spend my nights and days before」
SEARCHING THE WORLD FOR WHAT'S RIGHT HERExxxxx
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Lacertus has been under threat of the growing Infected numbers and the officials have not allowed scouting missions through the entire previous week. Supplies have just started to show signs of diminishing. There has been a decision to set a meeting between the officials on what should be done regarding the Infected rate and the condition of the community.

It is currently the afternoon, school has ended for all students and members with double roles are currently switching to their second jobs. Nightguards will come in to help the Dayguards as well as shift into their own time. Jobs that only take place during the first half of the day are currently over and those with no other job may do whatever they wish so long as it is not against regulations. Help in any job is welcome, though must be acknowledged by a member of the group that actually works in the specified job. The officials should be done soon and a decision should be made.

[unknown binaries]

⋰I'M TAKING IT SLOW . . .

█▌▐┋❛feeding my flame❜
▇▇▇ ⊹Ｓ↷Ｓ Ｈ Ｕ ＦＦ Ｌ Ｉ Ｎ ＧxxＴ Ｈ Ｅx(Ｃ Ａ Ｒ Ｄ Ｓ)xＯ ＦxxＹ Ｏ Ｕ Ｒx__ Ｇ↳Ｇ Ａ Ｍ Ｅ . . .



▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
【Location: office of representatives 】 【Company: all of the officials 】 【Thoughts: we need to end this now... 】 【ooc: bam first post is up! 】





Erik leaned back against the seat he was situated in, eyes closed and lips pulled downwards into a deep frown. Meetings such as this were not uncommon in Lacertus, but they were always more of a pain than they ever needed to really be. He and Emilee had many different views from each other, and that often led to many disagreements and unsolved problems that the other officials had to complete. Who wanted that? They were the leaders, they were the final say and the heads of the community and if neither of them could agree with anything then that meant no one else would know what to do. Erik tried to avoid conflict and understood that many of the survivors still outside were only trying to survive in the harsh new world they all called their home. Emilee took much more persuading in gaining the trust of those outside of the walls and wished to end the threat immediately. The two had different views from each other, but Erik supposed that was also a good thing in its own way. Both completed one another and made for a clear image when they could actually come together. It was a matter of luck, the topic that was currently being discussed would determine whether or not the two sides would come together or fight, and they both were very strong in their views. Sadly, as they sat in the room, Erik doubted that the decision would be easy to figure out between them all. He'd hoped that the officials would be able to help him out on the decision, or Emilee just agree with him and prevent any sort of argument from arising in the office. Yes, that sounded very good.

"Lacertus is running low on supplies. I don't think we'd be able to last another week on what we currently have." The man let out a deep exhale as he leaned forward in his seat to rest his hands on the desk (newly cleaned and polished). It wasn't long, though, before he brought his hands up and rested his elbows on to the desk. His two thumbs rested underneath his chin and Erik lifted his index fingers to cover is lips, "I proposed earlier that we send the scouts out to search the Jungle for supplies. I don't want them out too far from our location since the Infected have grown in numbers as of late. Doubled, really." What exactly had caused the rise in the number of Infected was lost to Erik, but the mere thought of the undead always meant bad news for the community. One Infected meant more hiding away which also meant bigger chances for the unique strains to show up to cause even more problems. Erik had seen more than one of the special Infected in his time surviving the apocalypse, he knew what they were capable of. As it currently stood, Lacertus was dealing with a very bad rise in numbers that surrounded them. He could have sworn he heard a Screecher at night while he made his last rounds in the safe haven. Oliver took to resting alongside Erik whenever he could get to his father once it was light's out. Maybe he was right, that could be one of the reasons that the numbers had risen dangerously above normal. But that didn't explain why they hadn't attacked the wall yet and simply moved right around it. Why? With those numbers, the Infected would have surely tried to break down the wall. It was all strange, and that was something they did not want at all.

While sending the scouts out to search for supplies was a good idea, it came with very big risks to them and those within the community as well. They had three that were allowed out of the walls, two more if he and Emilee were counted at the time. They would easily be outnumbered by the undead that crowded the streets. They gave the guards enough trouble as it was, and even if Erik gave the orders to make the survivors top priority it would be a difficult task to handle. They needed to take care of the Infected problem first, then worry about the supplies later. If they messed up even the smallest detail they were all screwed. It only took one of the rotting bastards to get in, then the risk of infection rose to new heights within Lacertus. "Due to the rise in the number of Infected around Lacertus, I say we hold it off. Three...four days tops. It will be very close for us, but we cannot risk the endangerment of the people here with all of these undead walking around us. We need to get rid of them first before sending anyone out." He paused, groaning to himself as he thought of the consequences of taking the path he was offering, and slowly rose from his seat. The people would be hungry as rations diminished, they would need ammunition yet would be low on even the reserves. There were just too many consequences of it, but there was no way to avoid it if they wished to protect them. Plenty of the survivors in the walls would understand the situation they were all in, but that didn't mean all of them would. There was also the running risk of weakening morale and a lowered patience level. Tolerance would be slim and the people would no doubt begin to grow violent. That, at least, was how Erik saw it and he didn't want his own thoughts becoming reality - not in the time they were currently in. He and Emilee worked their asses off to create the perfect sanctuary in the hellish world they all lived in and neither of them were about to let that go. "I say we spend two days getting the guards ready and inform the others of our plans so they can be put into the Inner Sanctum during that time as well as prevent any sort of outburst. It will take a lot of effort to get rid of those outside of our walls, but I am sure if we get all of our defenses together we can do it. We must act as their commanders, keep their morale and them fighting. After that we prepare the scouts for their mission. They will not travel alone, it will still be risky for that even after the fight."

It was always risky for them. It was exactly why Erik didn't really want his son training to be in that line of duty.

There was a brief moment of silence as Erik stared off into the distance, those around him blurs as he became lost in his own train of thought. Suddenly, he snapped back to reality and cleared his throat to add on the last bit of information needed for his plans, "We must also address our plans if the retaliation against the Infected does not go as planned. The wall is our main defense against them and therefor is our biggest worry. The guards are plenty, but we cannot guarantee an easy battle. We need to be wary of each side and keep in mind that just one Infected getting through could spell bad news for us. As I mentioned before, those not fighting will be moved to Inner Sanctum. However, if all else fails, they are at risk. We need to prevent that." As usual, his blue eyes shifted towards Emilee, who sat next to him, and the Head of Defense. They would help them all with this. "We need to come to a conclusion on our plans of actions and back-ups if it fails. There are many Infected, so that means bigger chances for the unique strains and a bigger threat to us. If we wait it will only get worse." He was right though, they just couldn't risk spending another day on the topic. They had to make the decision now if they wished for everything to go ahead smoothly. Using up another day meant losing even more supplies and pushing back the proposed attack further, allowing more of the creatures to gather and more of a risk to show itself. Erik had to think of every point in time in Lacertus. How they dealt with the attacks in the past while they were most vulnerable. How they led the community now and how they put plans into actions. He also had to think of the outcome of his actions as well as those taken by the individuals residing in Lacertus and how they would affect them all in the future both near and far. There were many twists and turns, many "ifs" and plenty of forks in the road, but it was his job to see it all. To go down each of those paths and decide, as best as he could, just how it would turn out for those he was supposed to protect.

Oliver came into mind, and soon after, Emilee and Anna. The three were family to him (well, Oliver was his family) and he worried about them more than anything else. A small guilty secret he kept to himself. Oliver was all Erik had left in his family, his only blood. The boy was still young and Erik knew about his reckless nature. He had to take extra steps when anything regarded the boy in order to keep him safe. He didn't give a damn if anyone called him a "bad father" for always looming over him and even stopping him from doing a lot of what he wanted to do. What Oliver wanted to do was far too dangerous and had too many risks behind it. Erik was just trying to protect his son. He needed to look ahead and even worry about the boy more than anyone else. Erik would be absolutely devastated if anything were to happen to his son, his life would be ruined. Anna was like a sister to him, the two being together before Lacertus was even built. She took good care of his son and made sure they were all safe from harm. Erik and Anna respected each other greatly and she was really the only one who he could fully find relief in when out scouting. Was she perfect? Well, there were some things he would like to do away with, but overall she was a great friend to be with. Erik didn't want to hurt her (he was holding a big secret, after all) and he didn't want anything else to do her harm. Emilee...there was so much he could say about her. Erik held her higher than anyone else in the community - minus his son - and thought of her nearly every day. Her well being, her relationship with others, her thoughts, and her situations all mattered to him. She was so close to him and Erik would do anything for her, give up his own life even! The three of them were prime examples of just how far Erik had to look around and prepare for anything. They were just three people though, and he had to handle many more in Lacertus. It was very hard work, but he would do it. Erik took on the role as leader with Emilee because they knew they could help the survivors struggling in the world. They knew they could give humanity another chance to live.

"You have heard my plan now. I want us to wait and prepare for an attack against the Infected to lower their numbers. We haven't seen any Brutes yet so it doesn't seem like we should have much of a problem, but we still need to prepare." The entire time, Erik had been standing up and was not sitting down at any moment. He wanted the meeting over with, he had other business to attend to and the decision to put into place. "Afterwards, we will prepare the scouts and have a larger group go out to ensure we get the supplies as well as keep safe. It will all be close to this location. Permission to travel further must be given by myself and Emilee." Erik was ready to conclude the meeting. He wanted to check on Oliver...and get away from Katia and whatever mischief she was bound to cause - he'd never say that though. His eyes went to Emilee as his head bowed only a fraction to acknowledge her in a low and serious tone "What do you have to say or add on? We need your input before we can move on."

[ewe stop]

━━━━━ W - WOULD THINGS BE EASIER IF THERE WAS A RIGHT WAY ?
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ( OH HONEY, THERE IS NO RIGHT WAY )

• 
  
  Will slumped at his desk, annoyed, as usual. Once again, his face off with Katia had been fruitless, and left him with nothing but frustration. The woman knew how to get inside his head, how to drive him absolutely insane, and it killed him that she held enough power that she was able to taunt him, mock that she had control and he was left to sit there, tight lipped and brooding over the fact that even in this new society, he was being screwed out of things he needed because of politics. The thought made him laugh bitterly. Sometimes he wondered if the world had changed at all.
  
  A knock at the door made his gaze flicker upward. "Hey Will," an all too familiar voice called through the door. "You got yourself locked in there all broody again?"
  
  He groaned, pushing himself out of his chair and moving toward the door. "Why are you lurking outside my office?"
  
  "Lurking? Who said anything about lurking? Open up, I've got a few smokes I thought you'd want to share," he heard her say through the door, wriggling the handle. He shook his head, biting back the smile that threatened to spill onto his lips, and opened the door, leaning against the frame. She was close, perhaps a little too close, leaning on the other side of the door, but he was a little too tired to care, and he didn't mind her closeness today. He would be the first to admit that Anna was nice to look at, pretty and thin with her long brown hair, it was no wonder she had the reputation that she did. Which was why he tended to avoid that sort of situation altogether.
  
  "A smoke sounds good," Will admitted, letting out a sigh. She motioned for him to lead the way.
  
  It had become somewhat of an escape for the pair, a few minutes idling either outside of the hospital or on the roof puffing toxic smoke into their lungs. How ironic, he would think bitterly, that he would be killing his health with cigarettes while the dead walked the earth around him. If he was going to die, it would be at his own hand. He had made that decision long ago, and there was no going back. He trudged up the stairs with Anna at his heels, staring up at the narrow gray corridor of the hospital emergency staircase. Every landing had a number painted on it, distinguishing the floor that they were passing by as they ascended.
  
  "Some days I wish we had the power to run the elevators," he admitted out loud to no one in particular.
  
  The snicker that slipped past Anna's lips brought him to look over his shoulder. "Elevators? Looks like these Americans are rubbing off on you Will. Lifts," she corrected. "Oh," she said suddenly, seeming to recall something rather important. "I brought something for you. Wasn't sure if you're into the brainy books, but I've been holding on to some psychological mumbo thing I thought you might want to have a once over on."
  
  The head doctor couldn't help but smile. "Brainy books?" Will wondered, cocking a brow at her. "Psychological mumbo? Sounds like my kind of thing. Where'd you manage to scrounge that up, Gray?"
  
  "Oh, I found it in some desk I was sorting through a few runs back. I'd been holding onto it for when Katia made you lose your s**t again." That made him roll his eyes. She knew him too well already, was he that readable? "I figured if they were all holed up for a meeting today would be one such time. It's an errrrr.. D...S..M? Not really my thing, but I thought you might want to have a looksee."
  
  As they neared the top of the steps, Will pushed the heavy door to the roof open, propping the cinder block they kept up there against the frame so they wouldn't get locked out. He held it open for her, and once they were both out in the cool afternoon breeze, he took a few steps toward the edge of the flat roofed building. On days like these, he'd sometimes think it was easy to forget. From up here, you could see land, and land, and more land, and bodies down in Lacertus of humans walking from here to there, going about their lives. You might think you were in the past again, not holed up in some post apocalyptic camp waiting for the rotters to starve you out. He let out a breath and ran a hand through his messy curls.
  
  "Sweet of you," he finally said after a moment. "I suppose that means I can count on you to help me keep from losing my s**t."
  
  "Or you can count on me to asure you do lose it. Really just depends on my mood." Anna flashed him a grin. "But don't let anyone know I'm sweet... I've got a reputation for only being slightly amusing," she replied. After a moment she fished a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and held them out to him. "You can have the whole pack, just don't smoke them all at once. Dunno when I'll get out on another run with the way things have been..."
  
  He slipped a white and brown paper tube from the pack, but shook his head when she offered to let him keep it. "It's fine, you have them," he frowned, fishing an old lighter out of his pocket. It'd been wearing down on fluid recently, but he'd deal with that when the time came. He lit his cigarette, then offered to light hers, holding the flame out for a moment and letting it die when they were both alight. "They're not letting you out?" Will asked after a long pause for huffing in the sweet taste of nicotine. "Too dangerous?"
  
  tab tab OOC: huge shout out to tenshi for helping out with this ouo

[Sitori Tenshi]

The world had gone to utter s**t, and there was little anyone could do about it. The Virus had spread like wildfire, and many people fell before it. There was no cure, there was no vaccination, there was no hope. If you were bitten you were dead. It was that simple. Sure, there was the slight possibility that someone could survive if they were, say, bitten on the hand and it was removed quickly enough. But that was a long shot. Once the virus entered your system, it was time to say your goodbyes. Every single person who had survived up until this point deserved praise for the fact. Each and every one of them had lost loved ones, their homes, their belongings… everything. Now really all that the people had in Lacertus was each other. Or, at least that was what Emilee Gray believed.

Watching as Erik leaned back against his seat, eyes closed and a frown on his lips, Emilee couldn’t help but release a heavy sigh. Meeting like this was a necessary evil, but Emilee hated it. Erik was always stressed, and they tended to disagree quite a bit more within those walls than anywhere else. It was what leaders do though. Try to consider what was best for the people that they are responsible for and argue until they could come to an agreement. Of course that is what the rest of them were there for, each official over their own branch of Lacertus there to give their two cents on the matter. There had been more than one occasion where a decision simply came down to a vote between them all. Of course Emilee and Erik had veto power. But neither of them had ever used it. A dictatorship was the last thing that they wanted to have.

Settling herself back in her chair, she listened attentively as Erik laid out his concerns, “Lacertus is running low on supplies. I don’t think we’d be able to last another week on what we currently have.” Letting out an audible exhale he leaned forward in his seat to rest his hands there as Emilee simply watched in silence. He was clearly very worried. Finally he brought his hands up, propping his elbows on the desk as he rested his thumbs under his chin and his index fingers over his lips, “I proposed earlier that we send the scouts out to search the Jungle for supplies. I don’t want them out too far from our location since the Infected have grown in numbers as of late. Doubled, really.”

Drawing her lower lip into her mouth to bite down on, Emilee nodded silently. It seemed like they had become more or less surrounded, and there was no real explanation for it. The people of Lacertus had been there nearing a year, in varying numbers, and they had never had so many of the walking plague outside their walls before. Emilee was always concerned about what they would do if a horde breached the walls, especially with any of the specialized strains. It was her worst nightmare, and the more of those things that showed up the more nervous she was getting. At the current rate they would already be a threat to the wall if it was attacked, and she knew far too well that they lacked the necessary numbers to get rid of them all if that happened.

“Due to the rise in the number of Infected around Lacertus, I say we hold it off. Three…four days tops. It will be very close for us, but we cannot risk the endangerment of the people here with all of these undead walking around us. We need to get rid of them first before sending anyone out.” Emilee let her lip pop from between her teeth, another sigh escaping her lips. They were low on supplies, and stretching that further just risked causing unrest. Then again, it did seem like their best option. There were ways to make that work. Of course, the likelihood everyone was going to be happen about it was slim to none. “I say we spend two days getting the guards ready and inform the others of our plans so they can be put into the Inner Sanctum during that time as well as prevent any sort of outburst. It will take a lot of effort to get rid of those outside of our walls, but I am sure if we get all of our defenses together we can do it. We must act as their commanders, keep their morale and them from fighting. After that we prepare the scouts for their mission. They will not travel alone, it will still be risky for that even after the fight.”

He paused for a moment, letting silence hang in the room as the officials all exchanged looks with each other. Erik seemed lost in another world, overtaken with thoughts about something before suddenly snapping back into the moment and to his purpose, “We must also address our plans if the retaliation against the Infected does not go as planned. The wall is our main defense against them and therefor is our biggest worry. The guards are plenty, but we cannot guarantee an easy battle. We need to be wary of each side and keep in mind that just one Infected getting through could spell bad news for us. As I mentioned before, those not fighting will be moved to Inner Sanctum. However, if all else fails, they are at risk. We need to prevent that.” His eyes shifted to Emilee, looking to her for support in the matter. She’d give it, but only when he was clearly done speaking. All his cards needed to be on the table first. “We need to come to a conclusion on our plans of actions and back-ups if it fails. There are many Infected, so that means bigger chances for the unique strains and a bigger threat to us. If we wait it will only get worse.”

How right he was. The more of those things that wandered into their territory the more likely the wall would fall to them. Lacertus had a limited number of people, a limited amount of ammunition, and there was no way that the few number of living could take on an even bigger number of dead. This place for survivors was a safe haven in a world of hell, and Emilee was not going to let that go. Everyone here was family now. It didn’t matter if she really knew them, or if she talked to them every day or not, they were her reason for living. She was responsible for them, each and every life and for their well-being. If someone didn’t eat it was because she failed. If the mechanics didn’t get their needed supplies, it was because of her shortcoming somewhere. If someone was bitten…..then she shouldn’t have let them be at that much risk.

“You have heard my plan now. I want us to wait and prepare for an attack against the Infected to lower their numbers. We haven’t seen any Brutes yet so it doesn’t seem like we should have much of a problem, but we still need to prepare.” Erik was on his feet, and it was more than a little clear he wanted the meeting to be over. They all needed to come to a conclusion, and Emilee had no doubt that after they did the two of them would lock themselves in a room for hours to talk about it. “Afterwards, we will prepare the scouts and have a larger group go out to ensure we get the supplies as well as keep safe. It will all be close to this location. Permission to travel further must be given by myself or Emilee.”

Erik turned his eyes back to Emilee once more, a slight nod of his head signaling his acknowledgement that she would have something to say. “What do you have to say or add on? We need your input before we can move on.”

Emilee let a sigh out before nodding. “I have a bit to add.” With that she pushed the chair which she was sitting in back to allow her to stand. “I think we should go ahead and move non-essentials into the Inner Sanctum. It is safer to have fewer people close to the wall who do not defend it as their job. That being said, I also think it would be wise to take volunteers to help double-up on wall duty. With the growing number of Infected outside the wall, we should let our own defenses upon it grow as well. I do not want people sleeping near the wall. Those who are there at night are on duty. The last thing we need is a breach while people are sleeping and no way to give warning. We’d be overtaken before sunrise.”

She paused for a moment, drawing her lower lip into her mouth to bite it again. It was a nervous habit, one she rarely even noticed she was doing, and she couldn’t help it coming into her next suggestion. “I also think we need to talk rations. Everyone needs to drop to half-rations. I know it is not ideal, but if this ends up taking longer than we’d like we will run out of food. I’d prefer we are all a little hungrier now and have food enough to last us, then have full bellies and face starvation because we can’t get out. Half-rations for all healthy adults. Obviously Ling would not be considered in this, as she is pregnant. Children I think could do on three-quarters. I’d also suggest allowing volunteers to take quarter rations. Which, of course, I will do.”

Almost immediately she heard a snort. It was Katia, of course. The woman could be an absolute pain in the a**. “Half-rations? Are you that convinced that Erik’s plan won’t work? I think it is rather brilliant. Besides, we are officials- I really have no intention of taking less rations. Though,” Emilee watched as the woman’s head turned towards Erik and a sweet little smile crossed her lips, “If that is what you want, Erik, I’ll concede.”

Raising her right hand, Emilee rested her chin in the nook between her thumb and index finger as she let out a soft growl of frustration. That woman was always doing this. If Emilee had something to say it wasn’t okay, unless Erik said the same damn thing. Most of the time Emilee just ignored her. Finally dropping her hand, she gave her head a bit of a shake, “Continuing on… we need a clear plan of action in the even that someone is bitten. Be it quarantine until they die from the virus, or putting them down in a mercy killing. Either way, there can be no room for questioning in the moment if it happens. God knows I do not want to lose a soul. But if we must, I would much prefer it only be one.”

She paused a moment, considering if there was anything else she wanted to say. “Lastly, I will not ask anyone to do anything that I am not willing to do myself. When the scouts go out, I will be accompanying them."



q2qr9.png[/img]

[the pieces fall]

Svea Lynn Markus

______________________________

Many times Svea ended up here.

Her exhaustion eventually caught up to her, as it always seemed to do. She had been fighting to stay awake as the hours, minutes, and even seconds ticked by. Her eyes would begin to lull and then snap back open as soon as the weight of sleep would shut them. It had been nearly three days since she had last slept. And it showed. The thin skin beneath her eyes were bruised looking, her hands slightly shaking, hair a mess, and the whites of her eyes were tainted pink. Eventually, the weight of sleep won, just as it always did, and she slipped into a light sleep on her desk, face tucked away into a book and the crook of her arm. And, after a few moments, when the sleep grew deeper, her body tensed. Cold sweat began to form on the nape of her neck and her temples. Suddenly, she wasn't in the room anymore, but somewhere else. Somewhere not comforting.

The sunlight was brilliant. The trees were a lovely shade of green. And everything was quiet. So quiet, in fact, that Svea could hear her own heart beating swiftly. Something was wrong. Something was missing. It began as a whisper in her mind. One name, over and over, repeated like a steady beat of a drum. Michael...Michael...Michael... Her heart beat quicker and quicker, harder and harder. Svea glanced down at her hands and saw the sun reflecting in the diamond setting on her finger. Michael. Where was he? He should've been back by now. He should be here. But he wasn't. So, where was he?

Suddenly, everything began to spin. Svea closed her eyes until it stopped, and when she opened them, it was nighttime and the area was lit by headlights. She struggled to see in the poor lighting until she caught sight of a sleeping figure. And, her heart began to sink, for she knew what happened. Deep inside, she simply knew. It was as if she had been here before. Because she had been. Hadn't she? Yes. No. She fell to her knees as she reached the sleeping figure. She smiled for a moment. He looked so peaceful, right then. Just as she used to, Svea ran her fingers through his hair, pushing it out of his face. And right then, she knew what she had to do. There was no questioning if he would live or die. He would die. Why should he suffer? Her hand brought up a gun to his temple, shaking.

"I am so sorry. I can't save you."

The gunshot deafened her to all but a high pitch ringing.

Svea had been murmuring a word in her sleep. Just one word. "No." At this moment in her sleep, she yelled in a sob. "No!" It whimpered off into a retreated, shaking, "Please...no." Her fingers, delicate looking, began to close as though trying to grab onto something, anything, for comfort. It was a comfort she did not find.

She was frantically holding onto him, in disbelief of what she had just done. She breathed in and out deeply, trying to remember exactly the way he always smelled, the way he felt, the way he breathed...even though he didn't any more. Eventually, she just lay with her head resting on his chest, crying into the cotton of his shirt. She whispered in a futile fashion, "Please, come back to me. I can't do this on my own." His shirt was balled up into her clenched hands as she prayed, desperately, for anything. Surely, if a God existed, this would be the time for his miracles. He couldn't save her sister. This though, this could be his redemption in her mind. She must have stayed there for days, refusing to leave his side. Until finally, she sat up to look around, and her eyes fell on her hands. There as so much blood. His blood. Svea frantically tried to scrub it off her hands in the grass, on her clothes, anything. He couldn't do this to her. He didn't get to. She all but rubbed the skin from her hands, and she still wasn't satisfied. She needed to leave him, to escape the sight of him.

Svea turned to him to say goodbye.

Suddenly, she began to shake with such a ferocity. As though fighting something, something seemingly inevitable and familiar. Her hands began to search more frantically. Tears had begun staining her face. Svea began to mewl, "Noooo. No. This can't be happening. Not you. Please, not you too."

And that, that was when she saw it. The scenery had changed. Or, at least, the circumstances had. And this, this was new. She had not experienced this before. It was a new face. A new face. She didn't understand. This couldn't be happening. Liam was blankly staring into the sun. Her breath was shaking, and hysterical. "Liam? Her voice cracked on his name. Her blood stained hand brushed his cheek to see if it were real. It was. And, suddenly, sounds began to overwhelm her, sounds she hadn't heard in a long time, growing louder and fiercer. The sunlight began burn at her eyes. And she cried harder. Hands shaking, she picked up her gun. She didn't know how she knew but it had one bullet left. She'd have to make it count.

"I'm so sorry. Please forgive me."

Suddenly, all she could see were faces. Michael. Her mother. Her father. Her brother. Serena. Rebecca. And now Liam, too.

A gunshot went off, except this time, it wasn't heard by anyone.

Suddenly, she woke up gasping for air, and remembering what she saw she felt sick. She turned quickly to her trash as the little she had eaten over the course of the day came back up. And she sat there, heaving and breathing hard, until finally, after everything was processed, the tears began. They were quiet, effortless tears. Effortless only because there was nothing left inside of her. And, she didn't know how long she stayed this way. It might have been hours or mere minutes. Her hands were shaking, despite her personal efforts to calm them. She must have looked them over eighteen, no nineteen, times remembering the blood she had seen so recently. She whimpered, "Please just stop. How do I make it stop?" And suddenly, everything grew silent and her hand began to move as though on autopilot. It opened the top drawer of her desk and pulled out the revolver.

Svea's hands began to shake even harder.

She began to point it upwards, until it rested under chin, the cold metal of the barrel shaking the very bones of her face. She looked up, away from the gun. She willed herself to pull the trigger. Slowly, her finger began to squeeze down, until at the last minute she collapsed and began to cry, hard. She pushed herself away from the desk, where she dropped the revolver, and stood, pacing the space. She breathed in and out frantically trying to calm her nerves. It was just a dream. It was just a bad dream. How could you be so stupid? He's fine you idiot. You can go and see for yourself. He's fine. They hadn't been sending the scouts out. First place she knew she should check was the garage. She was in such a hurry she didn't stop to grab her jacket, despite it being cold out. Her least favorite weather.

She unlocked her office door and swung it open, and at first just simply registered someone was standing there. It was with great disappointment that it turned out to be Borso. She shoved him to the side as she brushed past. She called out behind her, "No doubt in my mind you have a suggestion or five for me. Just put it on my desk! No time." Svea didn't care what he might think of the gun sitting on her desk or the sickness in he trash if he saw it. With frustration she took the stairs. And, when she finally broke through the doors, the brightness of the day made her head spin. It might have been cloudy but she hadn't been outside for days. It took her a moment for her eyes to adjust. People were walking in either direction around her, huddled together for warmth or buried in their layers. The cold wasn't phasing her, however.

She began the decent walk to the garage.

As she got within eyesight she instantly began looking.

Svea found Liam easily enough.

She smiled and let out a relieved laugh, waving feebly.

Slowly, she turned to leave, before she felt that wasn't quite enough to put her at ease. That was when she breathed in deeply, turned towards him again, and began walking quickly and assured. As she got closer he started to ask something, but she didn't hear. Svea all but ran him over going to hug him, her arms wrapping around his sides and hands clutching to his back. And, because her emotions were exhausted and she knew now that he was safe, she just began to laugh. "Hi." Her hands didn't let go yet, however. The laughter faded. She sighed in relief. "You're okay." She rested her forehead on his chest, looking down. She said it again, this time more to herself. "You're okay."

[Chef Of Sweets]

Ling Da Chun Suan

______________________________

The air was cool as it blew through the trees, blowing red and yellow leaves over the pavement as the sun warmed the earth. It was high in the sky now as its raised casted shadows along the ground. All the shops had been abandoned for some time now as they stood like ghost lined up against each other. They still had a few cute knickknacks laying around though most of them were completely stripped of anything of worth. Plants filled the shelves now as vines ran along the floor and up the walls. They were beautiful in their own way as in the spring time flowers would bloom and the whole plaza would smell like wild flowers. The stores made a small circle around the plaza as it must have been an entertaining area in the past for all the shoppers.

Though they were long gone as the infected had virtually taken over the world and so many buildings were no longer being used. They were only a shell of what they used to be. Ling pondered this as she stood up from her seat at the piano and stretched back, placing her hands on her lower back. Her stomach was not very large at the moment but it was large enough that she could just barely see her toes. Which was one of the strangest things Ling has ever seen as she was used to being able to see her feet when standing. Nevertheless, Ling has found that no matter how she sits or stands, after a moment she becomes uncomfortable and needs to shift. It was rather frustrating at times really.

She stretched back a bit more before straightening up. Ling then reached over and adjusted the metronome on the piano. Pulling back on the hand she listened to the beat that the metronome made. Ling then stretched up, holding her arms over her head as she took in a deep breath and felt her spin align and straighten. The warm sun rested on her skin and a smile came to her lips as she slowly let her arms down and breathed out. She then hummed to herself as she began to move slowly. The metronome kept a beat to a tune that only the heart knew as Ling went through a few Chi Tai moves to get her blood flowing and to stretch out. It felt nice moving around again after having played the piano for a few hours.

Ling did not keep to a schedule when it came to the plaza. She would play or dance anything that came to mind and people could come and go as they pleased. She would eagerly try her best to take on requests as Ling strongly believed that music is what helps to distract everyone from the world outside the walls. There was nothing better than to take time to just sit and listen to something that reminds you of home and better times. The sound of music was something that allowed for people from any race or background to come together and relax.

Ling sighed as she finished stretching and ran her hand over the old piano. She was very excited when she came across it in the church, the strings were old and needed to be cleaned but they still worked beautifully and there was even a pipe organ piano in the church, though small, it still played beautifully once Ling had cleaned it out. She was thankful for the project with these pianos as they helped keep her mind off of things and it was something she was allowed to do on her own. One would think she was disabled, not with child, with the way some of the people treated her at times.

That is just how it is these days really, because of the growing infected population, being pregnant was like being disabled. Though Ling did not want to accept it as she was going to handle her pregnancy the same way her mother did, with confidence and still standing to the end. Her mother was amazing and Ling only prays that she is half as wonderful as she is. Or was. Ling had no way of knowing if her family was alive or not though their chances of still living are very slim at the time. A bomb like that of which the American’s sent over, very few could escape. And Ling was sure her family was at least spared to live this life. For that she was thankful and at peace with her family’s death. Her only wish was that she wanted to bury them with the rest of her family and help their souls come to rest. She had wanted to bury Kyle after being brought here but it was too dangerous and so she had to leave his body where it had fallen to rot into the earth.

The thought always left a bitter taste in her mouth, regardless of how Kyle had treated her for a time, she still loved the man who had swept her off her feet. Love was truly blind and Ling could remember that day very well. She did not have any time to process just what her husband had become when he turned to look at her. His eyes still haunt her dreams as they were so lifeless and just, lost. Those brown eyes looked right at her, yet did not see her or anything. Then the blood came along with the screaming and pretty much everything was a blur until she found herself waking up in the hospital here.

Shaking her head, Ling reached out and grabbed a jar of peanut butter. She took a spoonful and shoved it in her mouth as she leaned against the piano and groaned in delight. Her child made everything except ice cream and peanut butter taste like dirt. Don’t get her wrong, the cooks do a fantastic job and everything looks delightful but that’s where the joy of eating stops for her. All the fetus inside of her wanted was either peanut butter or ice cream and seeing that they couldn't really make ice cream she had to settle for peanut butter. It had mystically appeared on the counter top in her apartment. She did not question it and did not give a rat’s a** who had gotten it for her. This peanut butter was the only thing she could really keep down and the only thing left that tasted wonderful.

She was mid mouthful of another scoop when a familiar voice rang out calling her name. Ginger’s head popped up from under the piano and she barked excitedly as she stood and raced off towards the small boy. Her tail wagged quickly as she leaped on top of him and began licking his face. Ginger was just as happy to see Oliver visit as Ling was as she laughed at the two and put her peanut butter down. She watched as the two greeted each other, “It’s great to see you too, Ginger. Look what I brought you. Yep, delicious jerky!” Ginger barked in excitement before taking the jerky in her mouth and munching down on it as Oliver got back up.

Ling stood up and gave him a hug, “I came here as fast as I could. I have been practicing what you've taught me lately. I think I am getting somewhere." He said with a smile on his face as he placed his hands behind his back. "Well then, how about you show me. Once you have this down, we can begin something new. I'm sure you'll be excited for that." Ling chuckled as he bounced over to the piano. He seemed to stare at the keys a bit lost for a moment but his fingers moved over the keys as music sprang from the strings. Ling sat down next to Oliver as he played and listened carefully. There a few mistakes but he was doing better than last time and his enthusiasm for playing was something that Ling loved most about Oliver. Once he was done he put his hands on his thighs and looked over at her for approval. "I can't practice as much as I like. Not with all of this training I have been doing. And my dad has been on me lately. I don’t know why...But I still try!"

Ling chuckled and nodded her head, “You play wonderfully. You just need to get more confident with our playing. It isn't something you do, it is something you feel. Mistakes happen all the time, even I make mistakes still." Perhaps he needed to rest from this piece and have his mind think about another. There was such a thing as over practice and Ling did not want to restrict his mind to one thing. " Different skill levels though. But I will be better. Maybe one day I will be playing for Lacertus with you? That would be great." Ling chuckled and nodded her head, “I would love that one day. Now, play for me again and this time really lose yourself in the music.”

Oliver continued to play though halfway through he seemed to get lost not in the music but his own thoughts as he made more mistakes than the first time around. "A lot of people are on edge about the Infected. I can't get a lot of sleep lately and my dad has been keeping me company. Kodi has been acting weird too. I wonder what's going on? Dad has been on me more than ever." Ling tilted her head to the side and tapped her belly in thought, “Well, you can’t forget just what kind of world you life in. Even though many of us would love to, these days are very dangerous times. Your father has a lot to work on.”

"I am actually surprised he hasn't come here yet." Olive commented as he looked around and then back up at her. “He’s a busy man, I’m sure he will be here shortly. Nothing can keep that man from you, that is sure.”

“How about we start something new, give your mind something else to focus on." Ling thought for a while before getting up and grabbing her violin. “Here, lets get you to start on this. We will start with the scales, like we did on the piano.” She then processed to show him how to hold the violin and bow. "Aw cool!" Olive jumped from his seat taking the violin as a smile was back on his face. He seemed to remember himself as he gave a small bow with his head towards her in thanks. Then sat back down next to her on the bench. "I've seen orchestras play this before. They are beautiful. You know how to play everything."

Ling laughed at his innocent nature and ruffled his hair. “I don’t know everything. Music is one language with many different derivatives for each instrument. Now, come. Let’s start on these scales as that is the foundation for all music.”

Attire: "It's the only thing that fits anymore."
OOC: I hope to get Borso's out soon!

[DoctorBear]

Dvir's fingers traced along the wooden beads, two finger tips twisting each bead before it was passed down the line to the next, his pose closed off and defensive, as if he was a ball trying to maintain as close to the ground as possible. There were no whispers, nor heaves of heavy breath at such an awkward position, he had more than enough experience to have easily managed conscious breathing in such a restricted pose. The silence of the church was not surprising given the time of day, and as a result it allowed for Dvir to have positioned himself in the middle of the nave, subtly arched in search of penance. It wasn't unusual for Dvir to pray inside of the church, though it was never a necessity, however his religious needs always seemed to come last of anyone elses'. If the church happened to have been populated, he would've never publicly prayed. Showing favoritism was not in his role as the priest of Lacertus, and ultimately, he understood that his needs were never meant to come before the community.

Her footsteps were brief and soft, but the change of atmosphere caused Dvir to hesitate turning the next bead with his fingers as his shoulders tensed. It was a momentary change of movement, but as he opened his eyes, they relaxed again. She had always been a quiet one, and Dvir would hazard to guess that had it not been for his military training, he would never be quite comfortable of the uncertainty whether or not she was in the proximity. But even the quietest of mice had to breathe, and with such old floorboards there was bound to at least be some moderate noise. Though he would admit, that the building was empty with the exception of Asim and Amina, contributed greatly. Nevertheless, he continued to shift through the beads, returning to his normal pace.

Sol paused before taking another step when she felt Freckles dig his claws into her skin, a sort of warning that something was no quite right, or safe. Trusting his instincts she looked around momentarily, wondering what had set him off. When she saw nothing she tensed a bit before looking back at Dvir. She noticed his position once again and stepped back slightly, before turning to sit down in one of the few pews still left inside the church. By now she knew he had to be praying, something she rarely saw him do if she was being honest. She use to be a pretty religious girl herself once upon a time and knew the importance it held for some people. She had the patience to wait for him to finish, finding no reason to rush him along. It would be very disrespectful anyways.

It wasn't a particularly long time before Dvir finally retreated from his original posture, his reserved body language opening as he stretched out his shoulder blades. Retreating back to sitting on his knees, a large spider had sequestered itself safely under his abdomen, playfully tugging at the wooden beads as he did his afternoon prayers. He let out a soft laugh, allowing the arachnid to finally claim the string of beads with ornamental coins. Amina, the spider, quickly lunged it's forward legs towards the string, webbing it masterfully into an easy to carry spiral so that it could drag it away from Dvir, frantically disappearing under the large tortoise that rested itself next to him. If hoarding behaviors weren't common for spiders, Dvir would have probably felt more concerned with her behavior, but he had gotten used to spoiling her on some occasions. It went without saying, after all, that anything in Amina's possession was not easily misplaced or stolen. The spider only seemed to appear moments afterwards, as Dvir began to stand up, figuratively glaring at the girl who sat so patiently on the pew before hiding away under Asim again. Again, Dvir's reaction was nothing but amusement, and as he cupped his hands together in front of his chest he turned to face Sol.

"Miss Cardozo." he spoke clearly, his throat noticeably dry. By the time she had a chance to stand he was already perhaps a bit closer than she would have been comfortable with, his palms slowly traveling to cup and shield her cheeks as he moved his lips next to each side, as greeting.

Going rigid at the contact Sol's right foot slid back a bit as if preparing to step back, or something, but she made herself freeze, reminding herself he wasn't attacking her. Her obvious discomfort however was noticed by Freckles, who let loose with a high pitched squeal. The sound was followed up with a odd buzzing, screeching sort of noise coming from behind Dvir. Eyes going wide at the sound, Sol's body shifted as her flight responses kicked in, her hands coming up to push Dvir away.

His hands instinctively deflecting her arms with his forearms before he took hold of her wrists, firmly keeping them in place. He pushed forward his feet, locking them on top of her toes to firmly keep them in place. Once he was confident that she wouldn't retaliate he turned his head, his relaxed expression grim with a flash of hostility as he spoke very quickly, and very formally. "Atsor." Not even a yell, more of an order. The Goliath spider hesitated, it's screeching dying down before it took a few steps back, retreating under the tortoise. Before finally disappearing, it made one final screech of defiance and disapproval, but ultimately abstained to his desires. It was then he turned to Sol, his tone and level of volume matching what he had in the coming month heard from herself. "We have both come well guarded." he smiled "There is no danger, you want to run, but you came to ask something, no?"

Eyes darting around a bit, obviously looking for a way to get away from him, but no amount of jerking towards or away from him worked. Between the pounding of her heart, and the rush of blood in her ears, it took a moment before she registered his words. Seconds ticked by as every locked muscle in her body began to relax, though she never quite lost her nervous energy. Then again Dvir was in her personal space and preventing her from moving, something she hated. If not for the years of learning to be quiet, she knew she'd be panting from all the rush of emotions and adrenaline. Still it was much more rushed and pronounced then normal. Turning her focus back on his face, she forced a smile, though it was pale around the edges. "Yes. Training." Her words brief, maybe even abrupt, but well her ability to form proper sentences right now failed her.

Her eyes betrayed her, but given the circumstances, he wasn't above ignoring a forced smile or two. His grip lessened steadily, his chin lowering to inquire a nod as he whispered "Can I let go?", a half smirk flashed from his lips "And keep my face."

Sol felt her smile shift, becoming more natural, and the smallest spark entered her eyes, "Depends."

He couldn't help but laugh, although it was much more controlled than he would've liked. Even within the confines of the church, the paranoia of making too much sound was very much present in both of them. He released her wrists, taking steps back to assure her much needed space as he reached for one of his tomahawks on his hips, grasping the weapon by the blade as he slid it out of the harness. "You shine when you want to, Miss Cardozo, even if you make others think you're a storm brewing." he shook the handle towards her as he continued to step back, smiling as the tortoise turned to follow him to the altar, his back turned towards her. "I like that about you." he had only known the nineteen year old woman for a month now, but already they had clicked better than you would have expected. She was unique, and Lacertus welcomed unique people, Lacertus needed unique people. He knew that she would be good here, safe, and perhaps even someday happy. But irregardless, he also knew that he would not stop her from leaving if she decided to. He knew better than to stop her when she really wanted to run. Though he believed, quite confidently, that that day would never rise.

Popping the big knuckle of her right pointer finger, Sol shifted a bit so that her right side was tilted towards the door. "Umm... obrigada." she said a bit nervously. Part of her knew he wasn't exactly being forward, it was just... how he was. Once upon a time she would have appreciated such a statement more. Now, not so much. Shaking her head slightly when she realized her body was preparing to flee again, she stepped forward, following him deeper into the church.

He had already dug into his pockets to fish out the key, his left hand slamming against the doorknob as he placed the key inside the lock to jerk it open. In the apocalypse, everything always required it's own special way of getting opened it seemed. Nothing ever functioned like it should've. Dvir would've been first to go down the ramp, had Asim not been eager to return to his bed. Tortoises were much faster than people thought they were, when they wanted to be.


-~-


Hand gripped around the neck of the tomahawk, the handle resting along the back of her forearm, Sol blocked an attack instinctively. She felt the strike vibrate down her arm, and knew the bone in her arm was going to be bruised tomorrow. Despite that she didn't curse, or make much of a sound either way. Brows furrowed in concentration she moved her other arm and hooked it over the wrist of his hand, preparing to attempt to disarm him.

However, Dvir's ambidexterity had her at a sour disadvantage. Locking his wielding arm had been a good strategy, one he was glad to see, and he would have smiled if he hadn't been so focused on eliminating her as a makeshift enemy. Intercepting her dominant wrist, he twisted her arm, forcing her tomahawk to slam towards both their locked arms. A single sweat had run along the wrinkles of his brow then, remembering what he was taught. Better an arm, than a life.

Sol's eyes nearly popped out of her head at seeing her tomahawk coming towards her own arm, and she knew if it hit she would lose it. All his training flew out the window, and pure instinct flipped on and she dropped, using her falling momentum to unbalance him, even as she kicked out for his legs, her eyes wild and her expression determined.

Dvir's legs slid apart at opposite ends, his weight focusing on his foundation as to avoid raising his feet while he changed his posture into a partial split. His hand flicking against her wrist as he pressed his thumb against her wrist with a sudden jab of force. Sol's tomahawk was flung across the length of the training mat, puncturing the top of a column of thick books resting near the wall. As her knee jerked, he knew exactly what she was planning to do. As much as he appreciated doing everything to survive, he still wanted to keep his family jewels intact. Dropping his own body down, he slammed his right shin onto her thighs to lock her legs in place. It was a deadlock from there, pushing her held dominant arm down against the floor. His own tomahawk immediately went down against her wrist, just above the area he was holding, but he hesitated at the last inch to demonstrate that it was a counted hit. He then shifted the direction of the blade, slashing towards her neck next.

Body jerking back against the mat as if she could sink into it to get away from the blows, she barred her teeth at him and flailed around a bit. Or tried to flail. When none of it worked Sol suddenly spit in his face, to blind him a bit, so that she could go for his eyes. Missing her mark a bit, probably from him jerking his head back from the spitting, she ended up scratching his face with her nails instead. She didn't let that deter her though, or slow her down, and instead turned her hand to jab him in the throat instead.

The first one was a free hit, due to his stun, but Dvir managed to recollect himself quite quickly after that. Dropping his tomahawk, he raised his forearm to deflect her arm as she went for his throat, turning it to press her forearm against hers above her head, leaning down against her as he whispered. "It's over, Miss Cardozo." a soft pant releasing from under his breath as he maintained his weight to keep her still while she struggled to come to terms with the fact she was safe, and he wasn't going to hurt her. It took some measure of self-control not to blink, as he felt the droplets of blood seeping from the scratch-marks.

הפנה את מבטך , האדון שלי , אני חוטא רק כדי שאחרים אולי לא .



━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━


☲ tab Sol tab ☲ tab Church - > Inner Sanctum (church) tab ☲ tab ooc: Looks like he didn't get to keep his face after all. xD tab ☲

[UntamedRain]

Ever since she'd stepped inside the church things had been going south. First Freckles had nearly been eaten by a giant spider - okay that was a lie, but it could have happened if Dvir hadn't put a stop to things! - and she'd nearly shoved the man who had been nothing but kind and gentle with her. He'd manage to soothe her frazzled nerves, but she hadn't stopped there. Not her. Her fight or flight instincts were strong, and tended to take over all her rational thought outside of getting away. The means tended to matter little in the heat of the moment. Which made for some interesting times when you were surrounded by people who appeared like they weren't out to get you. In Dvir's case he was also someone who was training her. Meaning he tended to put his hands on her in ways that made her wary, but knew to be part of who he was and what he had to do in order to train her, often engaging her flight response more then her fight. This time however was a bit different. The training was more real then before, and only got realer the longer they went at it. By the time she was about to lose her arm she was already on edge. That only tipped her over.

One moment she was thinking, mostly, rational, the next her brain blanked on anything that wasn't related to fighting for her life and getting free. No other thoughts crossed her mind as her body worked on pure wild instinct. Everything seemed to happen in a blur, and before she knew it she had skin beneath her nails, and was being pinned to the ground. Not that it stopped her from straining against the hold, her breaths releasing in tiny little pants. Most people would be screaming or raging at a time like this, but not Sol (or even Dvir). She knew better then to make noise. Such a thing could draw attention to zombies. That there weren't any in the immediate area mattered little to her (or him). It wasn't simple to stop what had become second nature to her, nor did she want to change it. There was no guarantee that she'd remain inside the supposed safety of these walls. Nor a guarantee that she wouldn't be thrown from them.

"It's over, Miss Cardozo."

Sol didn't register Dvir's words right away. Understandable considering how loud her heart was pounding inside her eardrums. By small degrees though, as nothing more happened, her conscious mind came back to her. She became aware of the discomfort of her body, and more aware of the weight holding firm to her thighs and arms. She didn't like the feeling of being pinned down anymore than she had moments ago, but this time around she was aware of the reason behind her current helpless state. Not that helped stop the butterflies taking flight inside her stomach, and for a moment rising up her throat. Swallowing, she pressed her lips together tightly and breathed out her nose. Sol hated to feel like this, to feel weak. Don't panic!

Her whole body shuddered then, and she closed her eyes for no more than a second before they flew open again to focus on Dvir. It was her lack of trust that prevented her from keeping her eyes closed. Some of the wildness had left her expression, however, but it was obvious she was still hanging by a thread, something that had everything to do with still being pinned down. "Over," she agreed in a mere whisper.

"Good," he whispered, a warm smile as he contained a laugh under his breath "because I need to scratch my nose." Dvir had begun to slowly let go of her now, releasing his weight on her body little by little until he was finally off of her.

Sol couldn't help a small smile at his words, finding a bit of humor in them even in this uncomfortable situation. She didn't move otherwise, remaining still until his weight was completely off her. The moment she was free though, she scurried back, a bit like a crab, just to get some distance between them. Getting to her feet she watched him warily, still uncertain of what he might do next. Especially now that she was aware of the scratch marks. Though 'marks' implied they were tiny, and they weren't. Her already big eyes widened further as she really took in the damage she'd caused. "Eu sinto muito!" her words, though soft, were more than a little mortified and apologetic.

He threw a dismissive hand gesture her way, his smile unwavering, as he reached down to grasp his training shirt and use it to wipe some of the blood. It wasn't the cleanest way to do it, but it was better than using ink-ridden rags from around the room. "It is a known danger of training, we do not have the luxury of protection gear, and we might never will." he didn't take Sol's attack personally, he knew better than to. But he also knew that she definitely would, "You did nothing wrong, Miss Cardozo." he smirked, raising his index finger to her as he shifted his feet "Except lose your composure, but the scratching, the scratching was good." he let out another soft laugh under his breath, rubbing against his nose, finally getting to breathe normally as he had to measure his breath while they sparred. "For you at least, not for me."

For a second she'd appeared a bit puzzled by his words, but then her expression cleared, "Yes, imagine it wasn't." the gravity of her tone implied, to those familiar with high context, that she was referring to both losing her composure and the scratching. Especially for losing her composure, as it caused her to scratch in the first place. Casting a quick glance around, she froze when she spotted her tomahawk. She had to refrain from instantly making the sign of the cross. "For that too."

Divr's head whipped to follow her eyesight for a moment, in mild confusion and somewhat worry. But as soon as he met eyes with the tomahawk, his expression seemed to relax again. He was quick to retrieve it, prying the blade from a manufactured copy of The Holy Bible. Focusing his eyes on her, he threw her the tomahawk before he placed his hand on the slit of the leather cover. He closed his eyes, drumming his fingers on it as he postured it in front of him "You know, Miss Cardozo, the Lord's words are not in here."

Sol tensed slightly, her grip tightening on the tomahawk he'd thrown at her, both fighting the urge to flinch at such blasphemy and to do something as uncharacteristic as roll her eyes at him. Once upon a time she'd been a good little catholic girl. These days, she found her belief in a higher power harder and harder to swallow. For a moment she reached up, placing her fingertips over the center of her chest, between her cleavage, before dropping her hand back to her side.

"Only words of men, good and bad, are here." he clarified "Who believed in the Lord just like some do here in Lacertus," he set the damaged book aside, knowing that there was a tower of them at the ready for anyone who wanted to borrow a bible. More than any other religious book in the inner sanctum. "but it's words cannot be found in parchment, because they are different to everyone who hears them." he softly smiled again, placing a hand on her shoulder slowly "It is not the book, not the church, not even the prayer which is most important." patting her shoulder, his tone becoming somewhat more serious "It is the belief which is, and you cannot put a tomahawk through something so ethereal."

I suppose it's good to have a priest who talks so, Sol thought but didn't dare say such words out loud. While she didn't believe in much anymore, or didn't think she did, she still had a healthy respect for the unknown. "What you say could all be true, but..." Sol began but stopped and just shook her head.

"That's not for me to decide." he interjected as she trailed off "I did not come to Lacertus to convert, only do my part." he smiled again "And perhaps, make a friend or two, to pass the time."

Making a soft sound that almost seemed like a snort, Sol waved off his words slightly. For one she knew he hadn't meant things that way, and also because she felt she should ward off such a statement like making a friend. That was the last thing she was here for. Though in truth she didn't truly even know why she was here. Dvir had found her, and she'd healed a long time ago. Part of her was certain she should have gathered a few supplies and left this place long ago, but no. Instead she lingered. Something she was very likely to regret before this was all over with. The people here were just more deaths either on her hands, or for her to witness if she stayed.

Pushing away such morbid thoughts she blew out a soft breath and finally said, "You should get that looked at." knowing how dangerous germs could be these days, and while she kept pretty clean there was no way she didn't have a breeding ground of germs living underneath her fingernails. She just hoped she hadn't left her mark on him for real, and that it would heal without scarring too badly.



☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼



彡 tab DVIR tab 彡 tab INNER SANCTUM of the CHURCH tab 彡 tab WHOOPS tab 彡

[Chef Of Sweets]

That’s it! This could possibly work, why did I not see that before? I wonder if Svea has thought of this yet. I better run it by her just in case, it would be terrible to overlook something that could possibly be the cure. This is fantastic, perhap we have been looking at it all wrong. After all this is a virus that attacks on the cellular level. If we can just learn how to make our cells immune to the virus, it would at least help to keep us from contracting the virus and give us more time to look for a cure.

Borso’s mind raced as he reread the same page for the hundredth time before closing it quickly and standing up. He had been laying down in one of the few beds that they did have in the rundown hospital. No matter how much they seemed to clean up around here, the hospital always looked like it was covered in dust and just felt stuffy. It made Borso feel uneasy about doing surgeries in this place but no one could really do anything when a surgery was needed. They had more than many people and very possibly anyone, though Borso liked to think that there were other places like this around the world. Since the thought of being the only ones left was a rather depressing thought and instead he just thought about the possible vaccine that he was thinking about.

He knew that Svea hated it when he bothered her with more ideas and that he should bother Will instead but he just could not help himself. It was much faster just going straight to the source. This way he at least knew that she was getting the information and if anything could help to spark a new idea. If he went to Will, then he would waste time explaining his idea to him and then having him think about it before giving the idea to Svea. That was a good half hour of wasted time that could be used to testing out the theory. In this day and age, every minute counted, it was like they lived in a world where everyone was in surgery twenty four seven. They could not waste their time with idle chatter and political statuses. Those were luxuries that they could not afford any longer.

Perhaps someone day when they were old, Borso and many others could sit back and relax. For now, now they needed to use their young minds and work together for a world that once was and a cure or vaccine would make them one step closer. It was really the only thing holding them back. Borso wished that he had gotten here in time to get a hold of a doctor or two who had worked on the virus but sadly he had been too late. All the doctors were killed and left behind them a world in chaos. Boros could not help but wonder what they were thinking when they made the virus, to make it with an antidote in mind was insane. No, it was stupidity and selfishness. The thought of them making this virus only seemed to put Borso on edge as his blood began to boil.

He shook his head before heading down the stairs to where Svea was, she always seemed to never come up from here and that worried Borso at times. They may not get along but she did need to take care of herself and get some sunlight. Sunlight was good for the mind and helped to keep emotions high, that was something he was sure Svea needed after being locked away with no company. He got to the door and brought up his hand to knock, knowing that she most likely had the door locked to keep him out. Though before he could knock, she swung open the door and for a second Borso thought that perhaps she was gaining psychic abilities, though it quickly left his thoughts because of the absurdity of it. However, Svea did not pause as she merely pushed him out of her way and she rushed passed.

"No doubt in my mind you have a suggestion or five for me. Just put it on my desk! No time." She called out over her shoulder as she raced up the stairs and left Borso staring back at the way she had gone. His hand still raised he knocked on the door frame three times, “Svea…” He called out softly before walking into her office. The place was a mess and Borso ran his hand through his hair as he looked around, fighting the urge to clean everything as he knew Svea would be pissed at him. He then looked through her desk for a piece of paper, hesitating when he saw the gun, before gently moving it out of his way and wrote his thoughts on paper. He smelled the vomit before finding it, working in a hospital tends to make the smell of vomit a bit too familiar. He just shook his head and dug in his pocket before dropping some vitamin c tablets on the paper for Svea. He was able to get a hold of a few and it was the least he could do with how much Svea put up with when it came to his OCD tendencies.

He walked out of the door and gloomy place and was happy to be back out in some real sunlight. He paused as the walkie talkie he carried with him at all times buzzed and voice came over the noise. Groaning, he grabbed his first aid kit and a few other things before heading out of the hospital. It seemed that they had a new person joining the club and so now Borso had to make his way to the wall and give this person the ‘ok’ to come in. It is not that Borso was busy, he just really did not like adverting his focus from the hospital. Slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he walked out of the hospital, completely aware that Charlie was the only doctor left in there should anything happen. Charlie would be able to handle things though, she was very talented.

He walked quickly through the place and it did not take long before he heard gun shots being fired as he stood a few yards away from the wall and the entrance they had made for this place. It was not anything fancy but it worked at keeping the dead out and living in. For the time being anyways. Waiting, Borso looked up and just then realized that it was late afternoon, he was supposed to be out here anyways inspecting the day guards while the night guards take over for them. Awesome. Borso thought the daily checks were a bit obsessive but they were quick and did not take that much time as he would just give them a once over and then let them leave. The officials were just worried that being around so many of the dead might begin to have airborne effects on the living, so checking them everyday for anything odd was just a precaution for the safety of everyone here.

As the new guy walked in the entrance, the guards pulled their guns on him and took his weapons away from him. Making sure that he was unarmed before letting Borso close to him. “Alright, I need you to spread your arms open. I’ll be checking for any bites that you have recently gotten and for any signs of turning.” He was straight forward with his explanation as he did not see any use in hiding what he was doing. Getting straight to the point saved time and energy. The man did not hesitate as he shrugged off his jacket and folded it over his arm. Borso could not help but notice the nice suit, it was something he longed to where again though did not have time to pack any of his on his way here. The one had had worn here was shredded to pieces. “That’s a nice suit. Did you have it before the bombing?”

Borso was honestly curious about it, since he wanted to know just how on earth did this man keep it so nice now a days. Though he was bored as he ran his hands over his arms, in the same manner that the guards had just done but Borso was feeling for stitches or fresh wounds. “Yes. Several of them. They are also in the bag that your guards took from me.” Borso nodded his head as he narrowed his eyes at the man’s chest. “I’m just unbuttoning your shirt to check these wounds.” He said, easily falling back into doctor mode as they always explained just what they were doing to a patient as they did things. It helped to keep the patient calm and gave them the chance to voice their unease if they were not comfortable with something. Looking over the wounds, he saw that they were nothing to worry about as they were not infected and almost completely healed, meaning that he must have gotten them a few days ago. Still though. “You will have to come to the hospital in about a week’s time so I can check over these. I know they are nothing but still, we like to be safe here. You aren’t running a fever or anything so they should not be infected but still.”

Borso then turned to the guards and nodded his head, “Sta bene, he’s good.” He watched as they then escorted him to the inner place where he would meet either Emliee or Erik. Looking back over he was able to catch a few guards that were hanging around and gave them a quick look over. Thankfully none of them were showing any signs of change so they were still good on that and it meant that Borso could get back to the hospital. Now he could focus on reading or cleaning up the hospital. Perhaps he should do some cleaning to get his mind off of things and let it rest. That would keep him out of the way of Svea for a few hours.

Attire: It works.
OOC: Finally! biggrin

[Sitori Tenshi]

Katia Chastain

How had Katia survived up until this point? She let other people make sure it happened for her, of course. Given her extensive knowledge in the medical field about disease and how it was spread, she was by far one of the most important people still living, if not the most important. There certainly was no question that she was the most important one in Lacertus. Sure, Svea was the ‘researcher’ of the group, but she was below Katia for a reason. Because she belonged there. In fact, there really wasn’t anyone else there to match her for importance except for Erik Mortiz and Abe Hall. Those were two very fine examples of men. Of course is was important that she not be too forward with either of them while in front of the other, less they become jealous. Then again, a little touch here or there certainly wouldn’t cause too much strife and the idea of those two men going at it over her was quite intriguing.

Katia was one of those people that just liked to keep to herself. It wasn’t that she disliked everyone else, it was just that she did not care at all to mingle with the ‘little people’. The mechanics, guards, scouts and whatever other menial positions that were created were so far below her that she really didn’t see a point in fraternizing with anyone who held them. Some would say that the sort of attitude she held would make for a very lonely life, but she didn’t care. As long as she knew that they were all ants in her parade it didn’t matter. And nobody was safe from the fire of her bite. Perhaps the one to feel its sting the most was Will Shepherd. Now there was an incompetent fool if she’d ever met one. Whatever possessed Erik and Emilee to let him be head doctor she just didn’t know. The man had no idea what he was doing, constantly bitched about supplies when she provided plenty to his facility, and he was a grouch through a through. Was it because of how she behaved? Certainly not. He simply needed to get over himself.

Then there was Borso. Sure he was a pretty boy, but he didn’t have much else to go on. He had a whole sleeve of tattoos, which honestly she just found to be obnoxiously unprofessional, and he always looked like he just crawled out of bed. If he did something with that messy mop of an excuse for hair on his head then it would probably irritate her far less. That said, not much other than the way he looked really rubbed her the wrong way at all. In fact, she could more than stand his company sometimes. Odd though, he did seem to avoid her. But then again, nobody would avoid her. The last of the lot she actually had to deal with was Charlie. For some reason they seemed to clash quite a bit. It was beyond Katia as to why, considering that the woman should be looking up to her, but she was just like the rest of them. Not a single one appreciated the fact she was conservative with supplies. They sure as hell would be if things went to s**t though. At least out of all the idiots she had to work with, there were a few times when Charlie just clicked.

Why did any of this matter? Because like it or not Katia had a responsibility to all of them. When she sat in meetings, like the one that was currently taking place, she had to be able to answer any questions thrown her way about the hospital. The only thing that seemed to make that difficult was the fact that every single one of her employees whined about needing more supplies constantly. It was hard to tell if they ever actually needed anything, it wasn’t like they didn’t have them. The truth was Katia just had them stored up so they wouldn’t be put to waste. At least during the meeting thusfar she hadn’t been called upon. No, instead it seemed Erik would be the one talking and Katia, like the others, would be sitting and listening to their wonderful example of a leader.

“Lacertus is running low on supplies,” Katia nodded knowingly, of course they were if he said so, “I don’t think we’d be able to last another week on what we currently have.” An audible exhale of breath escaped his lips as he leaned forward, resting his hands there. It was clear that it was worrying him, and that very fact made her frown. A face such as that deserved to never hold a frown upon it. Finally he shifted, propping his elbows on the desk as he moved to rest his thumbs under his chin with his index fingers over his lips, “I proposed earlier that we send the scouts out to search the Jungle for supplies. I don’t want them out too far from our location since the Infected have grown in numbers as of late. Doubled, really.”

Again she nodded. It had been obvious just by watching Erik for the past few days that the situation had grown worse, and that did not sit well with her at all. It hadn’t affected her personally much at all, seeing as she didn’t go without the things she was entitled to, but regardless she cared. Well, she cared that he cared at least. Sending the scouts out was fine by her, she didn’t particularly care for any of them. The male was an idiot (as were most of them) and a pretty boy, and the two girls were laughable. Katia didn’t bother to remember their names, they’d all probably die anyway. So if he wanted to send them out she’d support it.

“Due to the rise in the number of Infected around Lacertus, I say we hold it off. Three… four days tops. It will be very close for us, but we cannot risk the endangerment of the people here with all of these undead walking around us. We need to get rid of them first before sending anyone out.” Katia sat back in her chair, it was obvious it wasn’t her input he was looking for here. Eyes shifting over to the other female at the table, Katia narrowed her vision. It was always her he wanted the opinion from. “I say we spend two days getting the guards ready and inform the others of our plans so they can be put into the Inner Sanctum during that time as well as prevent any sort of outburst. It will take a lot of effort to get rid of those outside of our walls, but I am sure if we get all of our defenses together we can do it. We must act as their commanders, keep their morale and them from fighting. After that we prepare the scouts for their mission. They will not travel alone, it will still be risky for that even after the fight.”

Erik paused, letting the silence hang in the room. While the others let their eyes shift to each other, Katia kept hers fixed firmly upon Erik. She was absolutely captivated, even if he was insisting on talking about something less than pleasant. “We must also address our plans if the retaliation against the Infected does not go as planned. The wall is our main defense against them and therefor is our biggest worry. The guards are plenty, but we cannot guarantee an easy battle. We need to be wary of each side and keep in mind that just one Infected getting through could spell bad news for us. As I mentioned before, those not fighting will be moved to Inner Sanctum. However, if all else fails, they are at risk. We need to prevent that.” His eyes shifted to Emilee, and Katia could not hold the scowl from her features. She’d very much prefer if he didn’t have that woman always around. “We need to come to a conclusion on our plans of actions and back-ups if it fails. There are many Infected, so that means bigger chances for the unique strains and a bigger threat to us. If we wait it will only get worse.”

Again he paused for a moment, “You have heard my plan now. I want us to wait and prepare for an attack against the Infected to lower their numbers. We haven’t seen any Brutes yet so it doesn’t seem like we should have much of a problem, but we still need to prepare.” He was on his feet, passion overtaking him as he made clear his intent. It was oddly alluring to see him take charge like that, to solidify his stance as a lead and a man. It made Katia lose her focus fairly quickly. “Afterwards, we will prepare the scouts and have a larger group go out to ensure we get the supplies as well as keep safe. It will all be close to this location. Permission to travel further must be given by myself or Emilee.” Katia watched as his eyes shifted to the woman, “What do you have to say or add on? We need your input before we can move on.”

Katia turned herself in her chair to watch Emilee with a judgmental eye. Just because she happened to have met Erik first and decided to make this place shouldn’t mean she gets such a big say in everything! “I have a bit to add.” With that she pushed the chair which she was sitting in back to allow her to stand. “I think we should go ahead and move non-essentials into the Inner Sanctum. It is safer to have fewer people close to the wall who do not defend it as their job. That being said, I also think it would be wise to take volunteers to help double-up on wall duty. With the growing number of Infected outside the wall, we should let our own defenses upon it grow as well. I do not want people sleeping near the wall. Those who are there at night are on duty. The last thing we need is a breach while people are sleeping and no way to give warning. We’d be overtaken before sunrise.”

Emilee paused for a moment, doing that annoying thing where she bit her lower lip. Katia was completely convinced it was to attract attention. “I also think we need to talk rations. Everyone needs to drop to half-rations. I know it is not ideal, but if this ends up taking longer than we’d like we will run out of food. I’d prefer we are all a little hungrier now and have food enough to last us, then have full bellies and face starvation because we can’t get out. Half-rations for all healthy adults. Obviously Ling would not be considered in this, as she is pregnant. Children I think could do on three-quarters. I’d also suggest allowing volunteers to take quarter rations. Which, of course, I will do.”

Katia couldn’t help but snort. Half-rations? The woman was out of her mind if she thought that Katia would agree to something like that. Honestly. Who the hell wanted to cut down on how much they ate when they were already on rations. It was idiotic, and when she had a riot on her hands Katia did not plan on pretending to feel sorry for her. “Half-rations? Are you that convinced that Erik’s plan won’t work? I think it is rather brilliant.” Of course it was, Erik had come up with it after all. “Besides, we are officials- I really have no intention of taking less rations. Though,” Katia turned her head slowly to look towards Erik, a sweet little smile pulling across her lips for the man, “If that is what you want, Erik, I’ll concede.” She’d agree to just about anything he wanted at the end of the day. Really all he had to do is ask for it, or smile, or both.

Emilee seemed exasperated as she raised her hand to rest her chin in the nook of her hand, and Katia took a great pleasure in being able to do that to her. “Continuing on… we need a clear plan of action in the even that someone is bitten. Be it quarantine until they die from the virus, or putting them down in a mercy killing. Either way, there can be no room for questioning in the moment if it happens. God knows I do not want to lose a soul. But if we must, I would much prefer it only be one.”

She paused a moment, considering if there was anything else she wanted to say. “Lastly, I will not ask anyone to do anything that I am not willing to do myself. When the scouts go out, I will be accompanying them."

Katia smiled, “Of course you wouldn’t ask anyone to do something you wouldn’t, dear. We certainly wouldn’t think that of you.” The comment was snide, and there really was no hiding it, especially with the smile that held across Katia’s lips as she said it. Then, not a moment later, she turned her attention to Abe. “You have been very quiet this whole time, Abraham…Have you anything to say on the matter? I hardly think it fair if you do not get the chance to share your thoughts”

With that she scooted herself back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, flashing a bit of a smile between the two men. “I think it fair to say that whatever the two of you,” she was sure that it was clear she was not talking about Emilee, “think is best will benefit us all!”

OOC: Yay. Katia is up. Nobody get offended! She's a cray delusional b***h

[License To Kim Jong-ill]

Kyueng Jae Kyo

He had heard of a community on the outskirts of Atlanta, a safe haven for survivors. A place to go and not have to worry about sleeping too much, or too heavily. It was why he broke into the Atlanta Armory. There were, of course, no living soldiers left. They'd either been bitten or left for whatever place they had. Coolly, he worked his way through the building, clearing it of the infected and putting a bullet in all of the corpses he found, just to be safe. And then he loaded up a duffel bag with as much weapons and ammunition as he could fit into it.

He'd put on a bulletproof vest as well, if only because one of the guards might mistake him for a zombie and kill him. Calmly holstering his USP in the shoulder rig he wore under his jacket, he shouldered the duffel bag and began walking, a carbine from the armory held at the ready in his hands.

The journey from the Armory to Lacertus took him another two days. Mostly because he was walking and had to avoid the infected as much as possible. That is, until he came up upon the community, and found it entirely surrounded by the infected. "Igeos-eun maeu seong-gasin ibnida." He muttered to himself, then got up from his prone position on the house, stowing the binoculars back in the duffel, and dropped back onto the garage, and from there onto the ground. Then he began jogging through yards.

Cracks filled the air as he turned onto the main road leading up to it, killing the zombies directly in his path and all of the ones that would be a potential danger. He ejected the magazine and continued moving, kicking one zombie into several others as he slammed the fresh magazine home, putting a bullet into each one's head. After what felt like an agonizingly long time, he got to the gates and put his back to them, waiting for them to open and killing each zombie that came his way until then.

When they did, he backed inside the gates, and they slammed shut almost immediately. Then guns were pointed at him. They had let him in because of the zombies, he knew that, and they didn't know him at all. He was armed. They were rightfully mistrusting of him. One of the guards came down, rifle pointed at him, and took the carbine, his USP, and the duffel from him. He was effectively weaponless, save for the folding knife in the pocket of his trousers.

And then he was told to wait until someone came for him. Eventually, a very scruffy boy walked up to him, then checked him over, making small talk. At the instruction, Kyo obediently took his jacket off, folding it over one arm to prevent it getting dirty. “That’s a nice suit. Did you have it before the bombing?”

Kyo blinked at the small talk, taken aback by it slightly. He had expected everyone in the community to be at the least wary, but here this boy was, speaking to him like he was just a friend to be. “Yes. Several of them. They are also in the bag that your guards took from me.” The apparent doctor nodded his head, then reached out and began unbuttoning Kyo's shirt, who watched impassively as the doctor did it, offering up an explanation for his actions that wasn't necessary. He had assumed what the boy was doing - correctly, it seemed - as soon as he'd begun unbuttoning the shirt. Instructions were given to report to the hospital in a few days, and Kyo nodded, watching the doctor depart.

He put his jacket back on and settled in to wait, knowing that that was just a preliminary check. Someone in a position of authority would be out to see him as soon as they got word. That check was just to ensure that he wasn't walking in with a bomb in his stomach, or bitten, or anything of that nature. He was simply a traveler, there to join their community. Nothing more. He would not tell them what his former profession was, either. While it would make it easy for him to put down any members of their community who became bitten themselves, it would not engender good faith for the leadership to be aware of the fact that he was, before the bombs dropped, paid to kill people.

Not that that money meant anything anymore. It was likely an issue of morality to them. He lifted his hands up, sliding the prayer beads off of his wrist and began to silently count them, reciting the prayer in his mind. His eyes were not closed, however. They were fixed on where the doctor had come from - and left to. It was more than likely that the person there to bring him into the community - or shoot him - would be coming from there as well.

The guards were murmuring above him. He listened in to their conversation, and their poor attempts at quietening it. "Look at him. The man's wearing a suit that looks like he's pressed it recently. And he didn't get a single bit of blood on him while coming up the road."

"He didn't miss a shot either. How many times did he shoot? I saw him drop a clip -" Kyo's mouth turned down slightly. A clip was a small piece of metal holding cartridges together until they were loaded into a magazine. " - which, from that gun, means about 30 shots. Plus however many from the second one. He didn't miss, once. And he only ever shot once per target. Guy's scary. He's not even nervous. He's just down there, counting his ********' beads."

Americans. Unintelligent and crass. It was likely they didn't know what exactly was different about a carbine versus the standard form of the same rifle. Or even what a carbine was. It was mildly sickening. These people were allowed to have guns? He hoped they at least knew what kind of ammunition their weapons took. And that they cleaned them.

He would have to look for some Kalashnikovs for these people, or request some. Avtomat Kalashnikova's rifle was the most reliable gun in the world, and also the most wide-spread, bar none. It would even continue firing in the worst of conditions. Which was why he was comfortable seeing one in the hands of one of these men, as opposed to the weapons he had brought in.

But, that would not be up to him. He could suggest what would be better, but he very much doubted he would be heeded. Not until one of these fools broke something.

All of that, though, was assuming that he would even be allowed into the community.

[ewe stop]

━━━━━━━ tab OH DARLIN, CAN YOU TELL THAT I AM ALIVE ?
tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab tab ( LET ME PROVE IT TO YOU )

• 
  Abraham did his best to bite back the growing frustration that was building in his chest as he watched Erik and the others from his chair on the left side of the small room they had gathered in. Low on supplies. He clenched his fist in his lap beneath the table and lowered his gaze. This had been the meeting he intended to use in order to pitch an idea for expanding one of the buildings within Lacertus, or perhaps working out an idea to reinforce the walls around them. They were taking in more survivors, and with their population growing, it might make them a target for raids or god knows what else. A shudder passed down his spine. He hoped no one noticed the slight movement he made, and attempted to brush it off by shifting in his chair.
  
  Whatever ideas he had were now being pushed aside. They had bigger problems to deal with, he knew that all too well.
  
  He listened intently while Erik pitched his plan. The man was strong, intelligent, and his plan would have worked had they put it into effect weeks ago rather than right now. When they had the food and strength and supplies to spare, when the spirits of the living weren't so beaten down. He'd listened to complaints across the board from people residing in Lacertus. Not everyone, of course, was going to be willing to deal with cutting rations, and there were certainly people who would see the cutting of rations as a way of slowly starving them to death rather than allowing them to become food for the undead outside the walls. Regardless, he nodded his head as he listened. It wasn't a bad plan, it would simply take a good deal of convincing to put into action.
  
  And that was where Emilee cut in.
  
  Rations cuts, higher defense, volunteers taking quarter rations. He knew he'd have to be one of them, of course. And he'd have to push himself into going with her out into the Jungle in order to help with the fight. He gazed at the brunette seriously, eyes locked on her face as she spoke. There was something about the female leader that made him wonder. Her presence, maybe; how could she become so easily diplomatic and calm in the face of these dilemmas? He had this thought nearly every time they met at one of these meetings. Between her and Erik, he was assured that Lacertus would pull through, even if the plan didn't seem to be the strongest.
  
  The Official of Human Relations was jolted from his thoughts when an all too familiar voice prodded at him. "You have been very quiet this whole time, Abraham… Have you anything to say on the matter?" Katia's voice nearly made him cringe. "I hardly think it fair if you do not get the chance to share your thoughts."
  
  Not needing much more encouragement, the aged man placed his palms on the table and pushed himself up deliberately, gathering his thoughts in silence for a moment before raising his gaze back to the leaders.
  
  "It's not a good plan, but it's all we have," Abe said gruffly, glancing around the room at the rest of the members who made up the small council. "We have to speak to the people about rations and wall patrols carefully. Deliberately. We don't need the people on the inside of the walls turning on each other like the ones outside do."
  
  A slight tremor ran through his hands. He'd heard the stories about what people turned to when they were starving out there, and he wouldn't let his people become like them. Here, they were human. Here, they were family.
  
  "We need to collect the supplies while we can. I agree with Emilee, she knows what she's talking about. We won't last a week on what we have left, so the sooner we can pick off the ones closest to the walls, the better," he stated. "But we will have to consider gathering enough to make trips further. We can only go out into the jungle so many times before we've picked it clean, Erik," he nodded to the man across from him. "And I believe we can make it if we're able to strengthen ourselves now. It might mean groups having to go days away from Lacertus, but it will also mean more supplies from places that have more to offer."
  
  He took a breath and stretched his fingers, listening to his knuckles pop one by one as he made a fist, and then pushing his palms flat onto the table. "So I agree with Erik and Emilee. We send out the groups as soon as possible. I'll take quarter rations and volunteer to pick up more patrols." Abraham's voice was heavy, tired. He flicked his eyes toward Emilee and gave her a smile. "And I'll be right beside you when you go with the scouts, Miss Gray. As Officials, as leaders of this place, it's only fair that we bear the brute of our own shortcomings."
  
  That was the last of it. He slid himself back into the chair and rubbed his palms against his thighs. His wedding ring, a bit too big for his finger with the weight he'd lost since the damned apocalypse began, glinted under the lights above his head. This was all they could do now to survive.
  
  tab tab OOC: sorry this took forever guys ; n ;