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The rooms were relatively demolished - the ones that weren't locked, anyway. All she could find was some luggage that had been left alone, mostly because the pieces were locked. After scavenging for a few more minutes, Rose decided she should make do with the luggage, as a few locks weren't really an issue for her.

Now, the songstress was no lock pick or thief, but she had her share of old fashioned luggage with locks and small keys that were either lost or damaged, and she'd picked up a few skills to make sure she could get to her belongings for her shows. She set the three pieces up in the bathroom, two stacked on the toilet with the one she was working on placed on the sink. It had the faint scent of perfume and was just a combination lock, which was thankfully easier. Rose pressed the joint of her thumb against the lock as she spun the numbers, and when it stuck, she smiled to herself and proceeded to do so with the remaining slides. Once they were all stuck, she yanked and the lock came free. Opening the luggage, her senses were correct: elegant folds of a woman's dresses could be seen through the thick plastic of their wrinkle cases. She picked through the gowns until she found the other thing she was looking for - a small bag with hair accessories. Namely, bobby pins.

Taking a few of the pins, she stuck the majority between her lips and kneeled to the smaller of the remaining pieces of luggage, straightening the pin (it took a few attempts, her hands were slightly shaking) and eyeballing the lock. It was one of the cheap ones that looked impressive but was lightweight like plastic. Rose carefully inserted the bobby pin like a key, twisting the tip slowly so as to not break it. She held her breath, listening, biting her bottom lip and after about thirty seconds, the lock gave with a soft click. Removing the lock and putting it aside, she opened the luggage and found - men's ties? Really? An entire piece of luggage for ties? Apparently, it took all sorts.

With a baffled glance, she put the tie-luggage with the other open one and proceeded to the last. It also had a faint scent of something floral, but it actually had a decent lock on it. Three bobby pins and several minutes later, Rose would conquer the lock and open the luggage to find moredresses. Pursing her lips, she riffed through the fabric, knowing there was something heavier in there than dresses and mere vanity items. She was correct, much to her continued bemusement: there was silverware in the luggage. Whether it had been lifted or the owner was just that much of a germaphobe, the songstress couldn't say, but it was something. All sorts, indeed!

Dumping out the dress luggage, she pulled them all out of their plastic and looked them over, sorting them into two piles. Picking them up and lofting them over each shoulder, she returned to the group and dumped one of them off near the make-shift triage area. "These can be used for bandages," she pointed to the top most, "and the ones under here can be used for tying splints, if they're needed, after this dress here. They don't rip easy, which is the point, but I'll bring some needles from a sewing kit I found and garment tape to help secure them." She didn't wait for a reply, instead moving over to the barricaded windows and depositing her other shoulder full of dresses. "These are silk -- they're strong, and can stand as a sort of net against the birds if we need to cover holes or make a run outside. If you're using weak wood, maybe wrap it in some of the drapes and folds for better barrier." May the designers forgive me, she thought almost wistfully, eyes lingering on a pretty sage green dress that would soon be tatters.

Tatters. That gave her an idea.

Dashing back to the luggage, she picked up the ties, silverware and the aforementioned sewing kit, dropping off the last one and returning to the barricades with the rest. "With the hangers and these ties," she shook them out of the bag, "tie up the spoons and napkin rings here and use them as chimes - either for the door when people come in and out or at areas that are susceptible to breakage. That way, if a barricade fails, we'll have warning." Pulling out the knives and forks, she spread them out on one of the dressers pushed up against a window. "Modify these as you see fit -- weapons, tools to cut fabric, use the soup ladle as a hammer, fork prongs to keep the birds away from ledges, so on and so forth. But use them wisely as even silver only goes so far."

One of the men glanced at her bow in passing, and she remembered she had more she could do to help them. "If you need to replace some pieces or need to create new barricades in areas that aren't sectioned off yet," she let the bow drop from her shoulder, pressing her lips into a thin line, "I'll cover you."

They had work to do.


Word Count: 884
Total: 1099