Subject: The Setting Sun lopenl 647 views

[latingeek]

Scratching his head with a bored expression, Roman glanced over at the girls then back at they sky. Crossing his arms he clamped on tightly onto his coat, remembering how his old lover, Sumire, would cuddle into him. Shaking off his thoughts of her quickly, he peered over at the girls and spoke. “Rory, you might want get dressed. It's supposed to be a cold night.” He didn't know if she got easily sick, but he'd like to avoid it, with how the world is now, they'd have to go on a wild goose chase for medicine.

[Aldrid]

Natalie looked over at the boy kind of annoyed. How the hell could he tell it was going to be a cold night? though Talie it would be too, but she kept that knowledge to herself. It was going to be a cold winter, that much she knew. "And who are you to tell her what to do? She'll get dressed when she's ready, if she gets sick, she has to deal with it, though I know some plants that help." She glared at the boy in contempt. Who the fuck did he think he was, telling people what to do? She didnt care that he was only looking out for her best interest, but he was NOT the leader, not by far. This boy, she thought looking at him, didnt have the balls to be too assertive, and even if it came down to it, and he did grow a pair, he'd still be too weak willed. She noted the bored look on his face, "You're only trying to interrupt cause you're bored." She said bluntly, her features were closed off ending the conversation. As far as she was concerned this conversaton was over.

[adminarot3p]

Aurora was snuggling intoo Talie when Roman spoke. She lifted her head and listened, then realised how cold it was. Then Talie went off at him, making her sweet little mouth turn down into a frown.

" Hey! Dont be mean to Roman, hes my friend! Hes just looking out for me." She frumped, getting up and walking over to her clothes. As she dressed she was sient, no humming, no singing of little songs. She pulled on her shirt and walked over to Roman giving him a hug.

" You look cold, so i figured you needed a hug." She snuggled her head into his jacket. He was a few inches taller than her, so she snuggled into about where his heart was, sighing happily.
" And dont be bored, we can play 'i spy', or 'tag', or 'im thinking of a thing. Dont be bored." she buried her face into his chest, bringing herself closer to him.

[latingeek]

Smiling crookedly he reached down and patted her head tenderly, sliding his fingers through her wet hair. He could really see himself liking the optimistic girl, he mused silently. If only everyone was in such high spirits like Aurora. “Thank you for worrying about me.”

Glancing wearily at Natalie, Roman frowned slightly. He didn't want to be the girls enemy, he'd like to travel as a group since it would be a bit safer for all of them. He didn't get why she had such hate for him if they barely met just a few moments ago. He was one of the few men who would be considered angels, seeing how other men would have jumped at chance of taking advantage of both these girls. He chest scar started to itch, due to his anger, as he remembered the gangs around the local areas.

“If you guys wish to, we can keep moving or stay here for the night.” He said thinking over their options. This area would certainly would be a busy traffic area for travelers due to the stream. Removing his jacket, he wrapped it around Rory, stepping a few inches away from her, as he adjusted it on her shoulders. “This will help you dry off, and it will keep you warm.”

[Aldrid]

Natalie let Rory go, and didnt care much for how "nice" this boy was. they were all the same, in the end. "what ever," she mumbled simply, and looked around, rolling her shoulders and stretching. She didnt like being around strangers, let alone a male but it was safer. She COULD be nice to him, or at least try, but knew she wouldnt. He would have to gain her trust. she almost felt guilty for upsetting the cute little girl... almost.
Instead she slung he bag on her shoulder and started walking. The stream was a water source, but this also meant it was a drinking hole for anything else near by. Thats when she noticed something upstream and went to go check it out, frowning. Upon finding it she gasped and stumbled back, and scrabbling at the water bottle, dumping it out. She turned in a panic to the people behind her and yelled loudly, "Dont drink the water! Dump it!" she strode over and pulled the flask out of where she saw him stash it in his jacket, dumping the water, her breathing heavy. Oh god. They were in the water... could they be infected? does what ever chaange them travel on the water? upstream was a corpse, and not just any corpse. it was one of those... monsters, dead and fallen in the stream. This also worried her, that more might be around. She looked at the other two and whispered with a bit of worry, yet with authority. "we're leaving... now" and with that she strode past them quickly heading back upstream.

[adminarot3p]

She smiled at Roman as he put his jacket around her. She re inserted herself into his arms and watched Talie go. She look ed to the rest of her clothes, but was drawn away from them by a cry. She was horrified by the exclamation, and her eyes grew wide. The water was still thick on her, and she had small cuts on her arm from Chey. She looked up to Roman, the only one who hadnt immersed himself in the stream. Her big blue eyes grew bigger, her pupils dilating in fear. Her little lower lip began to tremble, and tears to form in her eyes. She buried her head in his jacket and trembeled like a leaf in a storm. She waited a few seconds then brought it back up. She walked over to Talie, and beheld the corpse. She watched crayfish pick at the meat, the pale bloodless flesh.

" Which way is the river flowing?" She asked, the fear and sadness staining her usually happy and melodious voice. She looked to Talie with tears dripping from her eyes, mingling with small drops of water that stood on her now pale cheeks. She was the epitome of corrupted innocence, tainted by fear and sorrow.

[latingeek]

He frowned and shook slightly out of fear pocketing his flask again, after Natalie drained it. He leaned down and picked up a large slab of rock, carrying it over his head. Walking towards the corpse, he grunted and threw it, crushing the corpses head. “It's better to be safe, then sorry.” He mumbled to himself dragging the remains of the body away from the stream. Roman knelt down near the stream, washing his hands quickly, then watching the waters flow. He washed his face in the water, but he didn't immerse himself fully to the water, so for all he knew he was safe. “The waters flow could have purified the stream, so for all we know everyone's safe.”

He bowed his head at Natalie, then walked away from the stream numbly. “Let's get going.” He sighed sliding his hands in his pockets waiting for the shock to pass away. 'We're safe', his repeated himself clenching his hands together as his finger nails dug into his skin. He smiled slowly, trying to put on a brave face. “Don't worry Rory, you're going to be fine.”

[Aldrid]

Talie turned to see the distraught girl and smiled softly, she walked over and hugged her tightly. "Shh, its okay, judging by the body, its been here for about a good three of four days." she said calmly, brushing out her hair. If she had to, she would kill Rory, swiftly and painlessly, though she never said this out loud. She looked over at Roman, conveying a sad hardness in her eyes, trying to convey what she just might have to do... or have him do to her in the near future. Talie was lucky she hadn't of drank any of it, or that she was clean of any open sores. She saw the small cuts on Rory and was worried that she might of caught the contagion. "The water flows from the south-west, and currently heading north. I've been following it for a couple days, except for a couple of interruptions. I've been going up stream." She had said calmly to the panicked group. This wasn't good, she wasn't too worried bout any infection quite yet, she was worried about their morale. Having someone as upset as Rory was dangerous, mixed with the threat of changing, she could end up doing something needlessly risky. "Rory, sweetheart, listen to me okay? don't think about it okay, we need you to calm down". she made sure to talk in a calm, reassuring voice. She smiled at her softly, hoping she would calm down enough that they could figure things out. "I'm going to continue on my path, you're more than welcome to join me." She finished, even giving a small smile to Roman. She was slowly realizing he wasn't too bad, or so she thought. She wasn't impressed by the little display of crushing its head though, they could of handled it in a bit of a cleaner fashion, but she just shrugged it off. She was, however annoyed with the boy for dealing promises he couldn't deliver on. They had no way of telling if she'd be fine or not, but Talie hoped he was right.

[adminarot3p]

She looked to her and smiled, more joy returning to it this time. She moved over to Talie and took her hand, still not wearing anything but her shirt. Her eyes sparkled gently in the fading light, still a little moist from her earlier realization. She would be ok, she was sure of it. If Roman and Talie said it, then how couldn't it be the truth? She looked to her pile of belongings. Her shoulder strap was still in a heap where she left it. She hoped Chey was alright, She could deal with herself getting hurt, but not Chey. She was a beautiful bird, and she wanted her to be with her forever. She relinquished the hand, dressed, and reclaimed it in little over two minutes. Her palm was soft, and relativly dry, even for her nervous state.

[latingeek]

Clenching his fist tightly he shook his head slowly. He stretched his arms and turned to watch the girls waiting for whoever to take the role of leader. Frowning lightly he thought back to the rumors he heard of an abandoned construction site, the main reason he came wandering into this small area. All he could hope for at their current situation was that Rory was fine, and that the rumors were true or they'd be doomed in their current situation. Having a weapon certainly wouldn't be bad. Roman grinned at the girls and slipped his hands in his pockets. “It seems you know more about this area then we do, so I hope you don't mind being leader, Natalie.”

[Aldrid]

Natalie watched him carefully, seeing the hesitation. He would not be reliable, if either one of them turned then? She frowned slightly, thinking how troublesome it is, that she had to look after them all now. He was so quick for her to lead them? Fine... then he should expect more than directions. "Alright, Roman sure thing." Her voice was laced with a but of annoyance and amusement.
"First thing is first, and this goes for the both of you. You want to stick with me? Fine, but you better keep up and shut up got it? I'm going to continue following the stream southwards. I don't care too much for society, it doesn't care about me." She looked around, and shook her head, as if clearing out some stagnant thoughts.
Not checking to see if the other two followed or not, She began to walk in the direction she was originally going. Natalie didn't know where she would end up, but she knew it would be better for her, if she just continued on. She didn't want to stay still for too long, and the more they lingered, the higher the chance something more could find them.

[adminarot3p]

She looked to Talie as she walked away. She would have to keep talking if Chey was going to find her. She kept her hand in a casual grip and started walking foreward. Her feet brushed against the grass and she reveled it the feeling. She was just as much a part of nature as it was. Her eyes surveyed the trees, and the worries that had been welling up were soon pushed down. She did worry, often, and half of the time her smile was pasted on. She tried not to worry, she really did, but there was just so much to worry about. She looked to Natalie, and smiled. She would stay with These two, safer in numbers, right? She looked to Roman, who was only a few feet behind them. He was conflicted with emotions, She could see he was used to being alone, but she would keep him company.